He was a really nice guy, platonic friend, all round good neighbour, always helping people out, if I had any idea what he was really like I wouldn't have accepted his invitation.
I had been having a stressful time so a good friend of mine had offered to take me on a camping trip, help take my mind off my everyday stresses. I knew that he could teach me a lot of plant lore which was something I had always found interesting so I accepted. He already had all the equipment that we would need so all I had to do was turn up.
It was a gloriously sunny day, almost seemed a crime to be sat inside a car. We sped along the motorways and back roads, deep into the welsh mountains. I had no idea where we were going I watched the road signs, but they meant nothing to me, all in welsh, I trusted him completely.
When we stopped to pitch the tent I was probably more a hindrance than a help, but I tried to do my bit. We had a drink and something light to eat, then we set off walking, it was nice and gentle, not much more than a stroll. Talking about various plants and their uses as food, medicines or the dangerous ones I needed to avoid. By the time we got back to the tent, the light was fading and we had been walking for at least 4 hours in a big circle.
He cooked us a hot meal, I'm not sure what it was but it tasted like the most wonderful banquet. Then we opened a bottle of wine and sat talking quietly almost reverently watching the sunset, with it amazing array of colours slowly creeping across the sky. Then it seemed quite sudden as the light faded and the darkness of the night descended.
After the long walk, a hot meal and one glass of wine I was quickly falling asleep. I crawled into my sleeping bag and fell asleep. I wasn't asleep long but I sort of half woke when Joe crawled into his sleeping bag, but I was soon fast asleep again only waking the next morning to the smell of bacon cooking.
Even though I had been woken by the delightful smell of bacon that was my only respite for the day, he had me walking hard, with frequent but short breaks. When we got back to the tent that evening I was ready to drop straight into my sleeping bag, but he decided it was my turn to cook. I made a coffee first to try and perk myself up and then made us a simple evening campfire meal. Then after I had cleared the meal away he sat me down with some wine.
I was quickly in my sleeping bag again but the night was colder than the one before and I was starting to feel a little cold, Joe suggested we huddle together for warmth. He grinned and said he had done it with plenty of other women and that I was perfectly safe with him. To which I replied with a wink that I wasn't bothered about the cuddling to keep warm, I was more bothered about him waking with a hard on in the morning. So I shuffled backwards and as he put his big strong arms around me I felt safe and warm and fell quickly asleep.
It was very warm the next morning and I suppose I was more comfortable than I should have been lying in his arms as I dozed in and out of sleep. When I started to feel something pressing against my back, I just responded naturally pressing back against it.
