Burning Desire

" Hi," she said to the little boy not removing her eye from Man's face. The man seemed a bit surprised at her boldness but continued glaring at her warily. "Hi," the young boy said smiling at her " He saved my kite," he said excitedly to her, turning and pointing to the man. "Hey, lad. Why don't you go and show your parents your kite? I'm sure they would love it" the man said to the boy as she watched them, surprised at the softness of the man's voice despite his wary looks. The boy waved at them and hurried away. She glanced sideways as the man watched the young boy go and saw a glimpse of emotion before he turned his face towards her with a wary expression. "Who are you?" He asked facing her " Hi, I'm Cassandra Donovan, a photographer for…." " the press? Sorry, I don't do anything related to the press". " Oh, I'm not a reporter. I am a photographer for a photoblog". " Okay??" He asked with a questioning look " what has that got to do with me?" " I would like to ask you a few questions and if possible, take a few of your pictures" " I don't like having my pictures taken ma'am" he replied curtly and started moving away " Now if you'll excuse me". " Excuse me" She called after him and walked towards him when he turned " You are a soldier right?" " No. Not anymore" he replied " Can you please just have an interview with me then? It doesn't have to be for long, just a few questions" She begged, blinking furiously under the blinding sunlight. He sighed and looked at her, considered it for a moment, and shrugged " Fine, whatever". " Great, thank you very much," she said smiling and moved towards the tree, motioning to him " We'll interview over there" " You can also… you know, take pictures", He said while they were approaching the tree. "Oh really?" She asked " Yeah sure whatever" he replied darting his eyes " if I'm to do an interview, isn't it better if I also take a picture? Besides, this would be my last time wearing this uniform, I should have at least one good memory of it" He continued. "Is it that tough? Serving in the military?" She asked as they got to the tree, curious about what his life in the military was like, wanting to know more about him. " It's not your regular job" he replied simply " are we taking the pictures or the interview first?" He asked, changing the subject. "What happened to him over there? Why is he trying to change the topic and why is he so wary?" She asked herself as she set down her camera stand and watched him from the corner of her eyes. He was much more good-looking up close than he was from afar with his green eyes looking emerald up close and his jet black hair trimmed to perfection. Everything about him was almost perfect, his tanned skin and muscles being the only evidence of his military time. Without his uniform, one could easily pass him off as another regular guy but his eyes held the secrets of his life and she was so curious about it. " We are taking pictures first," she replied. " Okay," he said and took a deep breath. " Is this your first time? Taking pictures for a blog?" She asked, chuckling at his obvious nervousness. " Yeah, for a blog post but not for a magazine or charity " he replied smugly " Oh," she said and grinned as she saw the look of triumph on his face. " Get ready for the pictures now, Mr…?" " Devin.. Devin Evans but with no Mr. Just call me Devin". "Alright, Devin, pose for the camera," she said as she took her camera and held it. " Now smile.." Click Looking up at him from the camera, she said " You look good when you smile. Let's go with that" " Thanks" he replied looking flustered "Let's have another one, give me your best expression" Click " Yeah….that's good enough," she said and lowered her camera "Let's move on to the interview" " Okay, I'm ready" Counting to three with her fingers, she muttered "Now" when the countdown was over and focused the camera on him. "We will start with our first question," she said, smiling at his ability to catch on quickly. " How long have you been in the military?" "Since I graduated from college" " What made you join the military?". "My uncle...he was a soldier" "Okay... are there any other military members of your family? Other than you and your uncle?" ..................... After the interview, She went through the various slots of pictures and smiled satisfactorily when they came out nice. " Okay! We are good to go. The pictures came out well." She said, smiling, and decided to tease him. " You look better in-camera than in real life" "Oh..thanks" he replied blandly " He doesn't know when he is being teased", she muttered to herself and shook her head. Looking up at him, she said " Thank you for your time, it was nice of you to cooperate with me" " Yeah...no problem," he said " we are done here right?" "Yes. Thank you once more and if you ever feel like it, you can drop in our office" She said giving him her card " just give me a call" " Uh uh," he muttered looking at her card before putting it in his pocket. " He's not going to do it," she thought to herself and shook her head at his ignorance " Such a waste of a handsome face, he doesn't even know when someone is flirting with him". "Thanks and goodbye," she said aloud and watched as he turned to leave, only to stop after taking three steps. " Did he forget something?" she thought to herself. " Is anything the problem? " she asked him " No...no. Just thinking if you'd like to go out for a cup of coffee with me " He said looking right into her eyes. She blinked, shocked at the invitation, speechless for a while before answering " Yes…, I'd love to" "Okay great. I'll call you" "Yeah…" she said breathlessly as she watched his retreating back, thinking about his invitation.