Burning Desire

He is lovi

While they were having coffee, Cassie couldn't help but notice the striking difference between the brothers as regards their attitudes. She couldn't resist comparing them and she found Dustin to be the better one among them.

" So Cassandra, right? What do you do for a living? " Dustin asked, cutting into her thoughts. As she was about to reply, Devin curtly cut in,

"She is a photographer," He said, glaring at his brother for ruining what would have been a perfect date, had he not been there. He glanced at Cassandra and felt his heart drop below his belt when he saw her returning to Dustin's smile and, loving, knew that she had already fallen prey to his brother's plan.

"Yes, I am a photographer for The Humans of New York-style photoblog" she added, smiling at Dustin and inwardly chiding Devin for his rude behavior towards his brother.

Devin inwardly groaned as Duster reached for a cupcake and placed it on Cassandra's plate, giving her his infamous flirty smile. Girls like Cassandra fall easily to kind gestures and things such as these and if he could see it, then Dustin can and he was pretty sure Dustin was already using it to his advantage.

He blamed himself for inviting her over to the house for coffee instead of taking her somewhere else. 'But what could he have done?' He thought and sighed ' when he has to make sure of his little sister's safety.

" Really? Since when have you been a photographer?" Dustin's seemingly interesting voice interrupted his thought and brought him back to the present. He took a bite of his cupcake, wanting to appear indifferent. Glancing at Cassie, he realized that since they all sat down for the coffee, she has not as much as thrown him just a few glances while she stared at Dustin.

Noticing that she was the center of attention with that question, She simply answered " Since college". Not bothering to add the fact that Photography had always been her solace, her only escape from the real world.

" Wow.. that's nice, isn't it Devin?" Dustin asked with a grin and Devin frowned knowing that he had purposely baited him.

" Yes, it is" He replied, noticing the smug look his brother gave him that pointedly said, " Look, Devin, it's almost like you are the guest" and he got offended.

Oblivious to what was happening, Cassie glanced around the house and she couldn't help but notice the contrast between them. They were probably raised in riches and never got to experience life as she did and she suddenly grew curious about what type of people raised them.

Unable to contain her curiosity, she turned to Dustin and asked " What about your parents? Don't they stay here" and immediately regretted asking as the mood in the room changed immediately, and both brothers avoided her face.

Realizing that she had just opened up an old wound and she opened her mouth to say something only to get interrupted by Devin.

" They are dead. Both of them, died in an accident".

"Oh my gosh, I'm so sorry"

" It's alright. You didn't know'' Devin said quietly and after that, they drank in silence.

On her way out, The butler gave her a note from Dustin. She decided not to open it and walked straight to her car and drove off.

As she got to the intersection, stopped by the traffic, she decided to bring it out the note and read it. She smiled as she noticed his penmanship was as good and neat as his words were.

"I apologize for my brother's behavior and like I told you before, I'll repay you with dinner tonight" it read

She smiled and kept the note back in her purse, thinking of what a date with Dustin would be like. If he could make her laugh over coffee, what else can he do? She continued driving, unable to stop thinking about Dustin.

"As much as he is good-looking, Devin doesn't have anything to offer in terms of communication. The ''boring fag'' didn't even bother exchanging more than a few words with me" she thought aloud, " I might have probably died of boredom if Dustin hadn't been there".

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

That night, over dinner, Dustin stared across the table at Cassandra, a faint smile playing over his lips.

"What are you smiling at?" Cassie asked

Dustin seemed to come back to her, a sheepish grin on his face. " I'm sorry. I was just daydreaming there for a second".

"Am I that boring?" She asked smiling

" Not at all. I'm just glad you were able to come out with me tonight" he said, bringing up his napkin to dab at the corner of his mouth. He looked up and met her eyes

" Have I told you how lovely you look this evening?"

" About a dozen times, from the moment you picked me up from my house up to here," she said, leaning in closer.

" Do you want me to stop?" He asked

" No. People find it strange but I sort of like living on the pedestal".

Dustin laughed. " I'll do my best to keep you there"

They were at The Clove Club, a cozy restaurant in Brooklyn that smelled of fresh spices and baked bread, the kind of place where the waiters wore black and white and dinner was often cooked tableside.

A bottle of Domaine de la Romanee- Conti sat in an ice bucket next to the table; the waiter had poured two glasses and they glowed yellow in the soft light. Dustin had shown up in front of her door dressed in a linen jacket, holding a bouquet of roses and smelled faintly of cologne.

" So tell me about your work", he said, his dancing green eyes looking more green under the yellow light.

" Oh, it is fun. You know the usual, taking pictures of people, sometimes interviewing them, and so on" She said, " I should be the one asking you that question".

"Why?"

" Because you know my work, but I don't know yours, besides the fact that you have a twin brother, I don't know much about you," she said with a laugh, unable to forget how shocked she was on finding out Devin was a twin

" You were shocked, right?" He asked, ignoring her question about him " When you saw Devin and me this morning"

" Of course, who wouldn't be. I only knew of Devin and I thought I was talking to him only to find out that it was not him" she groaned " I would have fainted if I didn't know of identical twins" she said choking back laughter.

" But you held it in" He added smiling at her

" So…"

" So…" he echoed, a smile playing lightly over his lips

" You haven't told me about yourself yet. I don't even know what you do for a living"

" let's just say that I love having fun," he said

" Okay…." She trailed off, urging him to continue.

"That's all, but I can assure you that I'm not as boring as my brother" he winked

She observed him in the dim lighting of the restaurant. His angular face looked roguish and at the same time boyish.

" What do you do in your spare time?" He asked her

" Not much, in case you haven't heard, Photographers don't have spare time. there are always new things to picture, things you want to keep as a souvenir" She said, looking dreamy.

He nodded. For a moment, the conversation hit a lull and she reached for her wine glass.

" Are you originally from here?" He asked breaking the silence

" Nope, I was born in Denver, Colorado. I came here to stay with my grandma after my father's death" she said swallowing hard

" So you came here because of your father? What about your mom? Is she also, you know, dead?" He asked, his green eyes shining with sympathy.

" No, my mom is still alive," she looked down, swirling the wine in her glass.

Seeing her expression, he changed the topic and she smiled gratefully at him. She had always hated talking about her parents; her father's death and her mother as it only brought back memories of the nightmare her life had been.

The evening wore on and the sky deepened in color, unveiling the stars. Neither Dustin nor Cassie rushed through dinner. They ordered coffee at the end of their dinner, sipping it over small talks.

It was still warm when they finally left. Expecting him to offer to hold her hand or open the car door for her, she was surprised when he didn't but rather walked towards his car and got in.

As they drove in silence, Cassie thought to herself how much fun she had. She realized that she enjoyed the date as much as she thought. It was nice, not sparkling, but nice.

When they got to her house, she glanced at Dustin. ''I like him'' she thought as he drove into her driveway and cut the engine.

He stared into her eyes and said softly " I had fun tonight and I would love it if we continued seeing each other".

She returned his look, captivated by his sexy green eyes and the warm smile crawling across his lips. She felt her body melting, anticipating what was coming.

He smiled at her and took her hands, he pulled her closer to him, tilting his head slightly as she leaned in and kissed her, not for long, but a kiss nonetheless. He pulled back and smiled

" Good night Cassie"

" Good night Dustin," she said, getting out of the car and watching him leave, noting once more that he didn't open the car door for her.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

She was walking down the hallway when she heard a knock on her door. She hurried down the stairs to open it only to find Devin, standing in front of her.

" What's wrong, Devin? ``What are you doing here?" she asked as she analyzed his appearance? He wore a white t-shirt which clung to him like a second skin showing his taut and as her gaze lowered to his thighs, she felt her cheeks redeem when she saw that he was only wearing shorts. She recovered quickly and glanced up at him only to see him staring at her so hard that she forgot how to breathe.

"I came to see you" he answered and without delay, pushed his way into the house leaving Sarah staring at his back with a shocked expression.

She watched as he made his way up the stair as though he was the owner of the house before she came to and followed him.

He had made his way into her room and was already sitting on her bed when she got in.

" How did you know my room, Devin?" She asked, looking suspiciously at him and folding her hands as he walked towards her.

He moved closer to her and she stopped when she noticed the raw desire in his eyes.

" What are you doing, Devin?" She asked shifting backward.

" What you want me to do" he replied smugly " Tell me, didn't you want this? The day we met."

" Devin! " she cried as he moved closer to her and grabbed her waist. He leaned his face towards her and she felt her stomach tighten.

She trembled slightly when his hands trailed slowly from her waist then to her hips and pressed herself into him, letting his touch become a part of her.

He kissed her then. A soft kiss almost like the movement of air beneath a hummingbird's wings and it felt as though they had been kissing for a long time, their bodies pressing more into each other with increased passion.

When they pulled apart, Devin took her hands and led her to the bed, and they kissed again as Devin slowly began undoing the buttons on her blouse. She felt his fingers against her skin, then his hands moved to the snap on her jeans. He kissed her neck, burying his hands in her hair, and slowly took off his shorts. He leaned back to take off his shirt and then…………….

She sat up on her bed breathing hard, her face turning scarlet when she remembered the dream she had of Devin and how he was tender in his lovemaking. She got out of her bed and walked to the kitchen wondering why her dream was about Devin and not Dustin.