The Winds of Autumn

Warning: This is a slow burn novel that doesn't have much sex in it, especially at the beginning. Though there are temptations at the beginning, the actual sexual themes don't really get going until later on in the story. It's a bit different from one of my normal stories. If you are wanting really raunchy sexy, this probably isn't your story. This is much more of a love novel.

The first two chapters covered Daniel meeting Emma in the woods. She was living in a tent, so he took her in on a rainy night when her items were destroyed. Now, they have become mutual friends, doing favors for each other. Chapter three covered their relationship is at evolved from roommates to friends. This is the continuation of their story.

I hope you enjoy!

Chapter 4

As the sun crept from the horizon, signaling the start of another busy work week, a man and a woman, who had recently started living together, were both opening their eyes for the first time. The smell of coffee flowed through the house, as Daniel turned the machine on and set out two cups. Emma, who was still lying in the bed that had been provided for her, just watched, with a smile on her face, as she poked her head out from under the covers.

After getting dressed, he placed one of the cups on the nightstand for Emma. "Remember, I'm coming back late tonight. You probably shouldn't wait for me to eat dinner."

"Thank you for the coffee," the young woman said, while keeping her lower half covered by the blankets. "We'll see if I get hungry early... but at least I'll have extra time to cook something really good before you get back."

"That would be nice... but I really hope you don't feel obligated to do that..."

"I enjoy it..."

A smile came over Daniel's face. "Well, I appreciate it... I'm heading off now."

"Speaking of my cooking, don't forget to take the lunch I packed you last night!"

"I won't."

An even bigger smile came over Emma's face as she watched her roommate grab the lunch she had prepared from the fridge. "Have a nice day!"

"I'll try to," Daniel said, before stopping at the door. He then faced the cute brunette, who was staring at him from under the covers. "By the way, what do you plan on doing, since you don't have work today?"

Shrugging her shoulders, Emma responded, "I'm not sure... I haven't had a day off in a while. Is there anything you need me to do?"

"No, I think you should relax. You've been working so hard lately. Why don't you just take it easy today? And don't even worry about cooking or cleaning."

Emma just smiled as she twirled her long brown hair with her fingers. "Sounds good, Daniel." However, just as the man was about to grab the doorknob, she stopped him, asking, "Hey... if by chance... I wanted to eat dinner with you... would you be upset with me for waiting?"

A low sigh escaped Daniel's mouth before answering, "Of course I wouldn't be upset... just please don't feel obligated."

"I won't!" the young woman replied, hardly able to contain how giddy she was.

Once the door closed, she listened carefully, as the sound of his footsteps faded away. When she felt the coast was clear, she kicked the covers off from her, revealing she was only wearing a pair of panties, to go along with one of Daniel's shirts.

I wouldn't want him to see me like this, but it's just so comfy! Also, things might get weird if he were to see me in his T-shirt and my panties...

Hopping up to her feet, she continued to blush, as thoughts of Daniel ran through her mind.

Just relax today? Yeah, right! I'm going to deep-clean your entire apartment, so there's a big smile on your face when you see me tonight!

The more she thought about her roommate, the more excited she became. Before she knew it, she was giggling to herself as she prepared to clean.

As she had in the past, when she was living in her tent, she got her day started while playing music on her phone. Nowadays, she was much happier living in her new friend's apartment, so she felt she could take her time and enjoy herself before getting started. With no one around, and an empty place all to herself, she started to dance a little while making the bed.

Emma was no dancer, and had hardly done anything that she would consider seductive in her life. However, now that she was in the comfort of her own privacy, she thought she could let loose a little, since no one would see how goofy she looked as she danced around in her underwear.

Unfortunately for her, as she was performing an uncoordinated spin move, her eyes locked onto something at the door, causing her to immediately stop. Her body suddenly became frozen, and a red hue took over her cheeks.

It was Daniel... standing in the doorway, struggling not to let his jaw hit the ground.

"Sorry!" he said before covering his eyes with his hand and walking into the apartment. He then grabbed his mug off the counter and headed back towards the door, explaining, "I just forgot my coffee..."

"Daniel! Oh, my God!" Emma shouted, for some reason, not knowing what else to say. Even though Daniel wasn't looking, she still covered herself with a blanket, in case he would turn around again.

"I should have knocked, but I'm leaving for good now! I'll see you later!"

"No! It's not your fault!" the young woman urged, as the door slammed, leaving her by herself once again. She then let out a gasp before dropping to the floor and allowing the blanket to slowly fall off of her.

After a moment, she glanced down at her underwear and thought,

That was so awkward... but at least he saw me in my cute panties...

Her cheeks were still as red as a strawberry, and she eventually covered her face, by slapping it with both hands.

I'm so dumb!

Meanwhile, Daniel was equally red as he hopped back into his car and began speeding down the highway. He definitely wasn't one to drive fast, but he could hardly focus on his speed when he feared he might have come off as a creep. And even worse, as the images of Emma's butt, bouncing around as she danced, crossed his mind, he had to shake off the thoughts that were going through his mind... as well as the feelings he was experiencing, in other parts of his body...

***

On the outside, it was like any other day for the hardworking man. Daniel was on his computer, checking over everyone else's reports. On the inside, however, his mind was focused on something much more enticing than work.

I wonder what she's doing?

he thought to himself, as he mindlessly clicked through each report.

By she, of course, he was referencing Emma. And though it wasn't the first time she had stayed at his apartment while he was at work, he couldn't help but wonder what was going on in his absence.

I told her to take it easy... but I bet she's cleaning or something... She even promised me dinner... She's so nice to me...

A smile suddenly came over his face, but he immediately wiped it away. He didn't want others asking what was on his mind, especially when he had been known for his emotionless expressions prior to meeting Emma.

Unfortunately, the more he tried to focus on the work at hand, the more his mind drifted towards Emma. Before he knew it, he was red in the face, as an image of Emma dancing in her panties popped into his mind again.

I wonder if she's normally in her underwear when I'm not there.... What if that's all she's wearing right now...?

Shaking his head, Daniel attempted to compose himself from his inappropriate thoughts. However, with the image in his mind of Emma's bubble butt covered in only pink panties, as well as a memory of seeing her nipples poking through her shirt, when she was braless one morning; he could at least admit to himself that he was quite lucky to have an attractive girl like her around.

I need to stop,

he told himself, after taking a deep breath. Refocusing on the task in front of him, he ignored the inappropriate thoughts going through his mind, by reminding himself:

I'm just helping her until she figures out a better living situation...

Daniel was quickly snapped out of his deep thoughts as he noticed his coworker trying to gain his attention. "Hello... Are you there?" Todd asked, staring at him with concern.

"Yeah... Why?"

"You are really zoned out there for a second, buddy," Todd pointed out.

"Oh, sorry... What did you need?"

"It's no big deal," his coworker replied, while chuckling to himself from the odd behavior. "I was just going to ask if you're going to the company banquet."

"The company banquet?"

"Yeah, the one we have before every Christmas. I don't think you went last year."

A memory came to Daniel's mind of him drinking, alone, in his apartment the previous year. He was looking at the clock, wondering if his co-workers were celebrating their annual rewards. It wasn't that he was jealous, but he had already discovered that one of the golden employees, who was on a fast track to promotion, was going to receive the employee of the year award, so he felt no need to attend.

Todd then interrupted the dark memory in Daniel's mind. "Maybe this can be your second shot at asking Jamie out."

Raising an eyebrow, Daniel looked over at his colleague and asked, "What do you mean?"

"Well, I heard Chaz is bringing his wife, so Jamie would technically be going alone. I figured you two could go together, and after a few drinks, who knows what could happen next?"

Suddenly, a little smirk came over Daniel's face, not from the idea of conjuring up a date with his former interest, but from the humor of the news he had just received. Withholding his laughter, he asked, "Chaz is bringing his wife?"

"Yeah, he always brings her. I guess it's impossible for him to lie about the banquet, since people like to post photos on social media."

"That's pretty funny," Daniel pointed out, shaking his head.

"This is your chance," Todd said, as his eyes lit up. "You can ask Jamie out, and maybe she'll see you in a different light!"

Coincidentally, the very woman they were speaking of happened to be walking by. Approaching the two men, she jumped into the conversation, asking, "Did I hear my name?"

Thinking this was a good opportunity to set his colleague up, Todd looked between the two and with a big smile explained, "I was just wondering if you and Daniel were going to go to the Christmas banquet together."

Both the man and woman's eyes grew big at the awkwardness of the situation. However, Jamie quickly changed her expression by putting on a fake smile. "You want to go to the banquet with me, Daniel? Wouldn't you rather go with that little Burger Hut girl?"

Todd, as well as a few other coworkers that were eavesdropping on the conversation, perked up with the new information that had just been exposed. "Burger Hut girl?" he asked, having never heard of another woman in Daniel's life. "Who is this Burger Hut girl?"

While an uncomfortable look came over Daniel's face, Jamie condescendingly explained, "I saw him on a date with a girl that was wearing a Burger Hut uniform."

"It wasn't a date," Daniel expressed, with an annoyed sigh.

Jamie, who noticed the others were paying attention to their conversation, further explained, "They were shopping for underwear. That sounds like a date to me."

Daniel, who now seemingly had to address their entire audience, rolled his eyes before making his own brief explanation. "She's just a friend of mine, and we both needed to do some shopping, which just happened to include underwear. It's no big deal."

Though the others knew Daniel was respectful enough not to dive further into Emma's underwear situation, they were still intrigued by the prospect of this new woman in his life.

"If you have a new friend that you're hanging out with, why don't you invite her to the banquet?" Todd asked, much to the approval of the other onlookers. "You're a good guy, so we'd all like to meet whoever you've been hanging out with."

Gazing amongst the crowd that was suddenly so interested in his personal life, Daniel replied, "I don't think she'd be interested in coming with me to an office party."

Jamie then chimed in, asking, "Have you even asked her if she'd like to go?"

"No... I had actually forgotten about it, until Todd brought it up just now."

"So, you don't want to invite her?"

"Not really... I wasn't even planning on going myself."

"Well, you definitely need to go!" Jamie replied, while placing her hands on her hips. "Rumor has it that you're going to be winning Employee of the Year."

All of a sudden, it was Daniel whose interest had been piqued. With his eyes widened, he asked, "Wait... did you really hear that?"

"I mean, I didn't hear it verbatim, but we all kind of know, don't we?"

Although there was a lack of evidence, the hardworking man understood that the rumors were often true, considering he already knew who was winning the award the previous year. Now, finally feeling a bit of recognition from his company, he responded, "Maybe I will go..."

"And what about this new girl?" Todd asked, not allowing the more important topic to be forgotten. "Will you bring her to the banquet?"

"We'll see..."

With a sigh, Jamie then walked off, leaving the guys alone. As Daniel attempted to get back to his work, however, Todd asked a question that was even heavier on his mind. "So... this girl Jamie was talking about... is she hot?"

Although Daniel had already admitted that Emma was pretty, he had purposely avoided pondering his sexual attraction to her. However, with that image of her dancing in her underwear reappearing in his mind, his face started to go red, as the truth of their situation dawned on him.

Gathering himself once again, he shook off any further inappropriate thoughts by picturing her face instead. Unfortunately, this did not get rid of the red hue on his cheeks.

Then, as Todd re-emphasized his question, an image of her smiling came to Daniel's mind, and with a smile of his own, he unashamedly admitted, "Yeah... she's pretty hot..."

***

That evening, when Daniel reached his apartment, the prospect of asking his new roommate to accompany him to the banquet was heavy on his mind. She had become a spectacle to his peers at work, who now knew he thought she was pretty. However, with the respectful bond they had established with each other, he didn't want to make her feel uncomfortable in any way. Still, it was growing more difficult to ignore his attraction to her, especially after what happened the last time he saw her.

Before entering the code on his lock, the man paused for a moment, not wanting a repeat of their last awkward interaction. He knocked on the door, and once his roommate acknowledged him with a "Hello!" he made his way in.

Much to his delighted surprise, the entire apartment was spotless. Even better, a delicious aroma coming from the food that had been prepared in the kitchen had masked the smell of the cleaning supplies. However, what he found most delightful was the smile Emma greeted him with; the same smile that he realized was so beautiful to him.

Though he was already struggling not to blush from her smile alone, she cheerfully greeted him with her arms behind her back, saying, "Hey, Daniel! Thanks for knocking, so you didn't accidentally see me in my underwear again!"

The already embarrassed man almost stumbled backwards, after being confronted by the same woman he had been struggling not to think about. Looking away, he scratched his head before responding, "Oh... sorry about that, once again..."

Immediately, it was Emma's face that grew red as she winced from the awkwardness she had unintentionally created. "Oh, my God! I'm sorry! I was just trying to make a joke of it, so you wouldn't feel weird around me, but I feel like I made it worse!"

Now, seeing that the cute woman was just as embarrassed as he was, Daniel quickly stopped her by comforting her. "It's fine... I'm just... I'm glad you were joking..."

"That was a bad joke, wasn't it?" she responded, playfully slapping herself on the forehead. "I shouldn't have brought it up..."

Noticing how uncomfortable Emma was, Daniel was actually relieved that she had attempted to smooth things over. He now understood that she didn't hold any grudges against him. Their relationship wasn't damaged, and that was all that mattered to him.

"It smells delicious in here," he said with a smile, causing Emma's face to light up. "You waited so you could eat with me, didn't you? And you spent all day cleaning instead of relaxing, huh?"

Performing a fake curtsey, the woman answered, "Guilty!" She then turned around and walked away, leading him to the kitchen, while explaining the meal she had prepared.

Though Daniel was guilty of taking a peek at Emma's butt, while he was following her to the kitchen, and wondering if she was wearing the same underwear as before, what really excited him was that they had so seamlessly worked past the awkwardness of that morning. And as the evening quickly turned into night, the man and the woman, who were once strangers, could now enjoy each other's company over a warm meal. It was Daniel's favorite way to relax, after a long day of work, and it was Emma's picture-perfect way of spending her day off.

***

That night, Emma found it more difficult to sleep than she normally did. Instead of immediately falling into a deep slumber, she rested, with her eyes wide open, staring up at the ceiling.

Not that it's important or anything, but I wonder what went through his mind when he saw me in my underwear...

she thought, as she rubbed her smooth legs together quietly. Making sure she was tucked nicely under the covers, she continued wondering,

And what would he think if he knew I was in my underwear right now...?

Shaking her head, she told herself,

Stop thinking like that... Daniel's a very respectful guy.

However, as she continued to think about their friendship, and how much fun she had doing simple things with him, like eating and talking about work, a smile started to grow on her face.

I guess it wouldn't be bad if he found me attractive...

Regaining her composure once again, she quickly snapped herself back to reality by putting her silly thoughts aside.

He's just helping me out... I've already taken up enough of his time...

With a sudden urge to glance at the man, Emma turned her body and faced Daniel. To her surprise, much like she had been, he was just lying on his back, staring up at the ceiling.

"Daniel...?"

He looked over at her with a curious expression. "Yes?"

"You're still awake?"

"Yeah... and so are you."

"Is something on your mind?"

The man scratched his head as an uncomfortable look came over him. "Yeah... sort of..."

"Well... do you want to talk about it?"

With a sigh, Daniel turned his body so he could face Emma. However, he was once again captivated by her beauty, and was suddenly nervous to express what was on his mind.

"You can tell me," she said in a comforting tone.

Although both of their hearts were racing, Daniel eventually gathered his courage and explained what was on his mind. "My company is having a banquet... I'm supposedly getting the Employee of the Year Award."

Emma's eyes lit up like a Christmas tree, and she began smiling from ear to ear. "That's great! You totally deserve it!"

"That's not what I wanted to talk about though..." he expressed, hardly able to keep eye contact with the woman lying on his bed. "Some of my coworkers found out about you... from when Jamie saw us shopping together..."

"Oh..."

"They were asking... if I was going to bring you..."

"Bring me?" Emma reacted, relieved that she hadn't hurt his reputation somehow. "Am I even allowed to attend something like that?"