Paparazzi

A few months later...

Amaya stretched as she glanced at the time on her computer. She was supposed to meet Christoph for lunch today, and all morning she had been keeping a close eye on the clock in anticipation. He had begun filming for "Water for Elephants," a movie based on a novel of the same title. Amaya had already read the book, and she had enjoyed it. Of course, her favorite character was the story's antagonist, August Rosenbluth, and Christoph had gotten August's part in the movie. Christoph had a real penchant for portraying villain-type characters, and she knew he would do this character well in the film adaptation. 

Since their return to the U.S. and the Academy Awards, Christoph found himself in high demand. Although he was used to keeping busy in Europe doing television shows and films, Hollywood was a whole new ballgame for him. For the first time, he had been inundated with film offers, T.V. appearances, interviews, and promotions. All of these activities had Christoph often flying from one end of the country to the other. He even flew to New York City to appear in late night shows. Amaya wished she could go with him on these trips, but she couldn't take off work that often and ignore her current projects. 

Christoph's life had changed so much in a small amount of time since first meeting him in Germany. Naturally, Amaya was happy for him, but his newfound life had turned them both on their heads, and it was overwhelming. Customs was a nightmare as far as the paperwork needed for him to have a visa to work and live in the U.S., and moving his things was proving quite a challenge. There was so much to do and just not enough time in which to do it. He had just bought a new home that had been on the market for a few months, and the previous owner was so glad to have a buyer that they were willing to settle on Christoph's offer after some negotiation. But even now, he was still not fully settled into his new home, though Amaya had been trying to help him unpack whenever she wasn't working on projects of her own. 

Today she looked forward to meeting him for lunch, for it was the first time in at least a few months that she had gotten a chance to see him for any length of time. She knew he couldn't help it, but it was still hard. Their time together was currently limited to Skype, texting, or talking on the phone. Still, she was grateful he was trying to make time for her, even if it was only a few moments here and there. 

Amaya saved her work on her project, stood, and picked up her crossbody purse. "Mike, I'm leaving for lunch now in case anyone asks. I'll be back in a couple of hours." 

Mike's glasses-clad face peered around the corner of the divider separating their cubicles. "Going with Christoph?" 

She nodded and smiled. "Yeah. Finally."

He grinned. "Don't do anything I wouldn't do."

She laughed. "You mean, don't do anything I would do."

Amaya left her cubicle and headed through the lot toward the street. The break was a welcome respite from her work. Her eyes hurt and so did her wrist from all the drawing and digital painting she was doing that morning. The place they were meeting was several blocks away, and she didn't feel like fighting traffic by driving. Instead, she decided to take the bus. When it pulled up to the stop, she swiped her pass and sat, silently smiling to herself when she thought about seeing Christoph after so long.

As Amaya rode on the bus, her phone buzzed in her pocket. Christoph apparently was already waiting for her at the restaurant. She typed: I'm 5 minutes away. I'll see you there. 

The bus stopped at the corner just in front of the restaurant where she was meeting him. She hopped down the steps and saw Christoph casually standing near the door of the restaurant glancing around for her. He was dressed more casually than usual, in a pair of khakis, a tucked-in dark blue short-sleeved shirt, and brown shoes.