The Winds of Autumn Ch. 03

***

That night, after Daniel had picked up his new friend from her shift, it was Emma who couldn't stop smiling for some reason. She was never one to have a frown on her face anyway, but on this particular evening, she was almost glowing.

She had brought her new roommate a meal from Burger Hut, like she normally did. However, the burger ended up going in the fridge, because she had planned on cooking for the both of them.

"So, what's the special occasion?" Daniel asked, as he took a seat on the couch, per Emma's request.

Pulling some ingredients from the fridge, the young woman, wearing a smile on her face, explained, "I don't know... I just thought I could make you something better than fast food... I actually want to do this more often, if that's okay."

"That sounds great, but don't feel like you have to do this or anything."

"I don't feel like I have to do this," the cute brunette explained, giggling just a little. "I want to do this..."

Daniel let out a sigh before putting on a genuine smile of his own. "Well, that's fine with me. Do you mind if I have a drink while I wait?"

"Of course not! It's your place, remember? You don't have to ask me if I mind."

As always, Daniel offered Emma a drink. However, it was only out of courtesy, since she normally rejected. Much to his surprise though, she ended up accepting his offer to drink with him, for the very first time.

"I think I will have one, if you don't mind."

Now Daniel was the one explaining the etiquette rules of the house. "Of course, I don't mind! I've already told you, that you have access to everything in the apartment."

The man and woman eventually shared a meal together; a beef and vegetable stew that Emma had made with ingredients she bought earlier that week. As the alcohol started to settle in, Emma became even giddier than normal. She started laughing at almost everything Daniel said, even when he wasn't trying to be funny.

Finally, Daniel gained some courage and asked, "Hey, are you always like this when you're drinking?"

"What do you mean?"

"You just seemed really happy..."

Emma paused for a moment to think about her demeanor. Blushing, she gave the excuse, "I just thought today was nice..."

Once again, a smile came over Daniel's face, as he saw that his new roommate was indeed happy, regardless of the alcohol. He then asked, "Do you like shopping that much?"

Letting out a little laugh, the young woman answered, "Normally I don't... but today was pretty fun... Thanks once again for the clothes. I promise I'll pay you back."

"Oh, don't worry about it," the man responded, staring at Emma in one of her new shirts. Trying not to sound creepy, he stopped himself from giving the compliment that had originally gone through his head. "You look really... happy... in those clothes..."

"You were right," the brunette woman explained, as she relaxed with her hands behind her head. "I'm much more comfortable outside of my Burger Hut uniform. Oh, and I love the dress you picked out..."

Now Daniel was the one trying to keep himself from blushing as an image of her in the white sundress came to his mind. "I just thought it would look... comfortable on you."

Though Emma knew most women would take looking comfortable, as an insult, she figured Daniel didn't mean it that way. Giving him the benefit of the doubt, she just giggled before saying, "thank you."

As the hours went by, the smile on Emma's face never disappeared. She and Daniel cleaned the kitchen together, but they had trouble looking at each other for some reason. He didn't want her to think he was staring at her, and she didn't want him to see how much she was smiling.

Eventually, as they found themselves ready to sleep, with Emma on the mattress, and Daniel on the blankets he had set up next to the bed, the conversation that had been on the woman's mind finally surfaced. "Hey Daniel," she whispered, as she lay on her back, staring up at the ceiling.

"Yeah?"

"I thought you were really cool today..."

Daniel turned to his side and faced the bed. "What do you mean?"

"The way you kind of told Jamie off... That was really cool..."

Though Daniel appreciated the compliment, his face dropped as he thought back to that moment. "I'm actually not proud of the way I acted."

Rolling to her side, so she could face Daniel from the end of the bed, she curiously asked, "Why not?"

After some reflection, he explained, "The way she acted towards you was uncalled for... but I definitely could have handled it better. Making that comment about going underwear shopping was an obvious jab just to make her upset. I shouldn't have used you for that, and I'm sorry."

Emma's face became a little red as she combed her fingers through her hair. "You may not be proud of the way you reacted, but it was really nice of you to stand up for me like that... even if you brought up that I needed to shop for underwear..."

Raising his eyebrows in confusion, Daniel looked up at his new roommate and urged, "Of course, I was going to stand up for you. That part, I don't regret at all."

"That's so nice of you... even though... I'm... well... never mind..."

"What?" he asked, growing more curious. "What were you going to say?"

If it hadn't been for the alcohol, Emma might not have let this out, but in the moment, she decided to explain herself. "It's just that... she was right about me, you know? She's a beautiful and successful woman, while I'm just a plain old Burger Hut worker. I can see why you wanted to go out with her. But it was nice of you to make it seem like I was as valuable as her, even if it wasn't true."

Daniel's head popped back as he found himself utterly shocked by Emma's statement. "What do you mean, 'Even if it wasn't true?' I meant everything I said. I work with her, and I live with you... so I know how both of you are. And it's safe to say, I respect you a whole hell of a lot more than I do her!"

Emma had to roll onto her other side so that Daniel wouldn't see how much she was blushing. Hiding her face with a pillow, she simply responded, "That's nice of you..."

Still unsatisfied that Emma would dare compare herself to Jamie, Daniel admitted something before thinking it through. "And by the way..." he started, as all the drinks he had were making his head fuzzy. "Not that this matters or anything, but I think you're prettier than her..."

Emma pulled the pillow away from her face as her eyes grew big in the midst of an awkward silence. Did he really just say that? she asked herself, as her cheeks went cherry red.

At the same time, Daniel's face also grew red, as the reality of what he just admitted started to settle in. Copying Emma, he turned onto his other side and faced away so she couldn't see him blushing.

Did I really just say that? he asked himself, feeling his heart racing. How freaking awkward did I just make this?! Why did I even bring that up?!

Quietly, Emma rolled back to the side of the bed and faced Daniel, who was still looking the other direction. Doing everything she could not to smile, as she twirled her hair with one of her fingers, she whispered, "Thank you, Daniel..."

Oh, thank God! he said to himself, letting out a deep breath. I thought I creeped her the hell out...

Awkwardly, they ended the conversation by saying their goodnights to each other. Daniel didn't have the courage to turn back and face her, but Emma stayed in the same position, staring at him from behind. They both stayed awake much longer than they wanted the other to know. And though they hardly even knew each other, they both understood they were lucky to be in each other's lives.

To be continued...