Day Two Wednesday
I got up noting the cum & sweat-stained under-sheet as I made the bed. I showered, dressed and went downstairs to have breakfast and settle my bill.
"How was the bed miss?" The landlady asked as she brought me my breakfast. I wondered if it was a double entendre and she had an idea what I'd been up to.
"It was very comfy. When I woke up this morning I didn't want to get up." After paying the balance of my bill and noting that Dorothy was nowhere to be seen, probably gone home, I left to continue my march on London. Occasionally the path took me away from the river, which is as of now, plainly a river.
After lunch I came upon a young couple -- mid-twenties -- sitting on a bench beside the river. She was a rather plain, mousey brunette. They were both thin, bespeculated and wore typical hiking clothes for this time of year. They were talking to one another as I approached, beyond saying "hello" to them just to be civil; I had no intention of engaging in actual conversation.
"Nice day." I remarked without slowing down.
"It is." The woman said. Out of the corner of my eye I saw her gently nudge her man.
"Very nice. Um..." He began nervously. Despite my initial intentions I stopped, curious, and almost pirouetted on my heels at what was clearly an opening conversational gambit.
"Can I help you?" I asked, adding a reassuring smile.
"My name's Joe and this is Melissa, Mel." Mel bobbed her hair whilst smiling broadly.
"How do you do I'm Amy" I wondered where this was going.
"We're walking the Thames path and we were wondering if you'd like some company, at least to our next overnight stop?"
I looked at the couple and wondered what on earth had possessed them to ask a complete stranger if they'd like to join them for part of their walk. True, it was clear from my hiking gear that I wasn't simply out for a jog beside the river or making a quick trip to the shops. I looked at each of them in turn. They were both standing now. He was about 5"10 and quite 'weedy', whereas she was my height and 'pear-shaped', particularly around the hips. They clearly sensed my disquiet.
"Sorry, we should explain. We stayed at the Raging Stallion last night, and couldn't help but overhear you talking about walking the Thames path. When we saw you going by just now we thought we'd ask if you'd like some company." Joe explained.
"We were literally just about to move on and you seem to have the same walking pace as us. It just seemed a bit silly that's all, we walking a few yards either ahead or behind you. It would look a bit creepy in fact if you ask me." Mel added. After a few moments deliberation in which I was sorely tempted to turn them down, I relented.
"Why not?" I replied.
For the first few minutes we walked along in an awkward silence.
"Where are you both from?" I asked, more to break the silence than out of a genuine interest.
"We're from Hereford. I work as a clerk for a firm of solicitors in the city and Joe here works as a nurse at Hereford County Hospital. We like hiking as you can guess and we're hoping to walk the Thames path in several stages over the course of the next year or so." Mel explained.
"Are you married?" I asked.
"This is our honeymoon actually. We were married in Hereford Registry Office on Saturday." Joe proclaimed proudly.
"Congratulations. How far are you going?"
"Ultimately, on our current trip we're aiming for Abingdon. But tonight we're going to stay in a farmer's field about three hours walk from here near Radcot Bridge. We're then going to spend tomorrow doing a bit of sightseeing -- there's a castle in Radstock and we'll call in on some friends of ours in a nearby village called Clanfield. What about you?"
"Well, I'm self-sufficient shall we say," I never like to boast about my wealth, "And I'm walking the Thames in one go from the Source to Tower Bridge."
"Cool." Mel said whilst Joe whistled in admiration.
We continued walking along making small talk with Mel & Joe explaining about how they met -- it was on a singles night organised by an online dating website -- as well as about how they chose to spend their honeymoon. Surprisingly I found myself growing fond of the newlyweds and in her plain way, I even started to find Mel desirable. At one point Joe had to pee and went behind a tree. I managed to catch a glimpse of his dick and noted how, even flaccid it was quite long. Mel was one lucky woman. The hours went by quite quickly and we soon reached the parting of the ways.
"Where are you staying tonight?" Mel asked.
"There's an inn apparently called Ye Old Swan. I though I'd try my luck there and see if they've any free rooms. Failing that there's a campsite nearby" I replied. I could see from their reactions that they thought that wasn't a good idea.
"Don't bother. Unless there's been a cancellation in the last week or so, when we tried to book, they were full. It's one of the reasons why we're camping in these fields. The farmer who owns them is a friend of the people we're visiting tomorrow and is letting us stay in his field at a very reasonable price."
"You could stay with us. Better than trying the Swan, only to find it's still full." Mel suggested.
'And if you're going with the campsite option, better to stay in a field with us than with a bunch of complete strangers." Joe chimed in, forgetting that he & Mel had been strangers to me mere hours before.
In hindsight I should have been concerned, particularly given my initial reaction when they first spoke to me earlier in the afternoon, but I didn't object, which turned out to be a richly rewarding decision. I followed them across the field and up to the farmhouse, situated a few hundred yards up a gently sloping field from the river. The farmer was introduced to me, whom they explained as being a fellow Thames walker faced with staying at the campsite. At the mention of it, the farmer turned to me smiled and let me stay. We continued on to the spot in the middle of a fallow field that flowed over the crest of a gently sloping hill behind the house and found, to my amazement the largest circular tent I'd ever seen that didn't accommodate a circus or wedding reception already firmly pegged out. It could have comfortably accommodated six or even eight people! It was dark-green and looked somewhat like a tee-pee with a box-shaped extension protruding from one side. Closer inspection revealed it to be a portable toilet. All the mod-cons I thought.
"Impressed?" Joe asked.
"'And here's one we made earlier'" Mel added smiling.
It was impressive and peering inside I could see that the floor was quite thick, at least two inches, maybe more. It felt warm and cosy and I noted there were no windows, though one could suspend a lantern or other light source from there. The hill wasn't too high, but where we were was high enough to afford some great views of this section of the Thames Valley. By the time it was dark, Mel had lain out a double sleeping bag with inflatable pillows and an electric heater suitable for use inside a tent. Outside Joe set up a gas stove and turned on a lamp for illumination.
"Don't you feel a little exposed, being alone out here?" I asked, a little nervous.
"We're used to it. And the fields here are enclosed. And farmer won't come up here until tomorrow morning." Mel replied. We shared provisions and ate a nice meal of hotdogs, washed down with a can of red wine each which we all 'nursed'. It was finally dark and the three of us sat huddled around 'shooting the breeze' as we ate.
Eventually I decided to call it a night and disappeared into the tent. I used the chemical loo in the 'outhouse' and after removing my boots and beanie climbed into my sleeping bag which I'd set up earlier. I found the heater made it warm, too warm to sleep comfortably in clothes. The lantern had been turned down, but not off and there was also a glow from the gas heater, though it was dull as Joe had turned it down ready for bed. I lay in my bag, eyes closed, trying to sleep. Outside I could here the occasional giggle but also what Jo and Mel were saying:
"I definitely think it's her." Mel said.
"Well I figured that." Joe noted. They were clearly talking about me. Once more my worries about them surfaced. Here I was lying in my sleeping bag in a tent in the middle of some farmer's field that wasn't mine and which I was expected to share with two total strangers during the night.
"Then why didn't you say something to her?" Mel said, her voice had taken on a badgering quality.
"Because if it hadn't been her we'd have looked like right pair of idiots, or worse, perverts." Joe replied. "'Excuse me, my wife and I were just wondering whether you were the woman we heard last night shagging a barmaid from the Raging Stallion? Because if you were we'd just like to say we really enjoyed the show and we got so randy listening to you both cumming over and over that we had a really great bonus fuck.'"