As Emme glanced up she inhaled the scents of pine, chocolate and coffee, permeating the wooden facades of the cafés, some of which had outdoor seats with a sheepskin on each chair, so coffee lovers could take in the view of the Silberschnee with their arabica.
Then she saw it: a supermarket bag made of paper. Then another. Then another, being carried by people coming from a small side street. Emme laughed to herself. This pretty town had curated itself so perfectly, even the supermarket was hidden in a quad behind the more palatable shopfronts of Läderach, Lindt, Bogner and Patek Phillipe.
Emme explored the side street and found the discreet entrance of a deceptively large supermarket, branded Migros, and stepped inside, fascinated. Emme always loved a foreign supermarket. When she and Tom had been backpacking in Australia, or on holidays closer to home, they had loved going to local supermarkets and seeing what treats they could fill their baskets with. In Kristalldorf, the supermarket was as pristine as the streets outside it, filled with the aroma of freshly baked goods.
This place,Emme thought, before stopping at a wall full of chocolate bars that looked like vintage postcards, their wrappers were so beautiful. Continuing along an aisle of meats and cheeses, she wondered if it might be a nice touchto cook for the Harringtons tomorrow on their return: Bill had mumbled that he missed Yorkshire pudding the most when Emme asked them how long they had lived in Switzerland, so cooking a roast for them might be a good way to ingratiate herself. For now she settled on buying herself a beautiful bar of Cailler chocolate.
Back outside, Emme continued to the furthest point of town, the closest she could get to the Silberschnee without going off course. Where the road turned to trails, she stopped outside an impressive-looking modern hotel called the Anna Maria, with glass balconies all facing the mountain. Emme took in the view of the mountain from the street and imagined what it might be like to stay there. How rich she would have to be; how lucky she was to be paid to enjoy this scenery.
Pods glided overhead, coming from the gondola station on the river’s edge. On the other side of the river stood a mansion that looked like something out of a fairy tale. Emme stopped as the road came to an end, looked, and listened. Pretty posts marked out the routes for various hiking trails; sounds of cowbells became more apparent, ringing from the foothills. The river bubbled and the soft whirr of the cable car gave a sense of calm. Emme imagined this must be beautiful in all seasons, and almost wanted to wish her time away to spring, to see what the view looked like then– with lush fields and wildflowers, she imagined. Emme leaned on a wooden post, took a photo of the Silberschnee’s iconic peak on her phone, and planned her next move.
As Emme wound through a side street back towardsthe church, she passed a pretty apartment building with dark wood balconies and flower boxes lining them. Each waist-height balustrade beam had a love heart cut out of its wood; each flower box was vibrant with hellebores, violas and pansies in lilacs, pinks and creams. Emme was just marvelling at how beautiful a simple block of flats could look when she saw a semi-naked woman rush out onto the balcony of one of the first-floor apartments. The woman wore a white shirt, a thong, and a mischievous smile. Her long legs and lustrous brown hair made her look like a supermodel, but given all the beautiful people Emme had walked past this morning, several women in this town looked like supermodels. They probably were.
The woman was clutching ice-white sneakers and a large coat. She leaned back against the wall. Her breathing heavy, her eyes alert. Her long, tanned limbs started to shake in the cold as she listened to what was going on inside.
Shit. What’s happening?
Emme listened too. Another woman was shouting from inside the apartment, in what sounded like German. Then English. Emme looked to the balcony doors, and back to the woman leaning against the wall. She had a small smile of triumph at the corner of her mouth.
A tall man came out onto the balcony, and he was so handsome that Emme slunk back into the shadows with a gasp.
It’s him!
It was the man with the aviators from the airport. The man whose presence in the darkness of the shuttle was so immense and enigmatic Emme had done everything she could not to look at him. Now she couldn’t help herself.
The man’s skin was tanned and his shoulders broad: each line and sinew told tales of pursuits played out under the sun. He had dark brown hair, sun-kissed bronze at the ends, that licked his neck like treacle. He had full lips, a strong nose and judging from his underwear, which was all he was wearing, a huge cock. His semi-erect penis seemed to throb through his white, tight, Calvin Kleins, no doubt having just withdrawn from the woman standing on the balcony with the mussed-up hair and the mischievous smile.
The man too seemed equal parts bemused and panicked, as he kissed the woman passionately and expeditiously, lovers stealing one last kiss, as he held her hand and helped her climb over the side of the balcony with a giggle, stroking her bottom in its thong as she went.
The woman shouting from inside spilled out onto the balcony: as tall and leggy as the first, but her mane was honey blonde. She berated the man in a mixture of German and English, which he responded to in English, his protestation and lies voiced in a soft South African accent.
‘Genuinely, no one’s here! I was just thinking about you baby, that’s all,’ he said, gesturing to his hard-on, which seemed to be holding on.
‘Then why did you just rush out here?’
‘I needed to cool off,’ he said, looking down.
‘I heard someone!’
‘No baby, it’s just me and the TV. And… well, I was thinking of you when you came crashing in.’ The man pouted.
The woman softened a little, looking at him with drunk-in-love eyes.
‘It’s only you now, I swear.’
Big fucking liar!
Emme narrowed her eyes and opened her mouth in outrage. What was this guy like?
He leaned in and spoke platitudes, kissed the woman’s neck and flattered her, until she started to soften. As he did so, the first woman with the Bambi legs hid at the side of the building, half listening, fully invested, as she slipped her trainers on, wrapped herself in her long coat and put on huge sunglasses. She walked off towards the town, hugging her body tight.
‘Come on baby, you’re just too much, I’m hard for you day and night,’ the man said, as he looked at the blonde in utter awe. She was gorgeous too. Jesus, what did they put in the water here? The woman pouted. And allowed the man to press his full lips to hers. He held her face and slipped his tongue inside her mouth, pressing his cock into her skintight caramel trousers.
‘Oh,’ she sighed, looking like those long legs of hers might buckle. He pulled her in some more, putting a palm on each of her buttocks and pressing her towards him. His muscular shoulders enveloping her, her back now to the street where Emme watched, rapt. Shocked at the gumption of the man– and his lovers– in broad daylight.
The man, who had managed to convince one woman that he hadn’t just been inside another only minutes earlier, locked eyes with Emme over his girlfriend’s shoulder.
Emme wanted to frown. But she was also more turned on than she’d been in weeks.
