Millie's Kayak Camping Adventure

When reality returned, Millie calmed her breathing and languished in the afterglow. Had they heard her? Would they feel insulted she chose to get herself off instead of joining them or letting Troy fuck her? From their tent came silence, then a shifting of bodies and sleepy murmurs.

Millie filled her lungs with the fragrant night air as her heart slowed. She regarded the stars again, feeling tingly and loose. It wasn't the best orgasm she'd given herself, but any orgasm was a good one.

Yet, as much as she had needed it, the orgasm left her hollow. A yearning remained deep inside she knew she could never satisfy alone.

She dozed fitfully, unable to get comfortable in the muggy air, hugging her sleeping bag like a lover, subconsciously keeping one ear open for more activity from her neighbors.

After hours of tossing, she gave up. Light snoring came from the other tent, so she eased open her tent and, still naked, crawled out.

Only embers remained of the fire. The stars blazed above. Millie stretched, at first nervous at standing in the humid night air naked, then relaxed and breathed, enjoying the feeling of freedom, reassured by the snoring from Val and Troy's tent.

She picked her way to the river's edge. Careful not to splash, she scooped water over herself, rinsing away the sweat, loving the cool water running over her shoulders, breasts, and back. Then she sat on the shore, heels in the water, and leaned back to admire the stars and the arcing Milky Way.

When the snoring stopped, she didn't know, but the shifting of bodies on the air mattress carried across the clearing, as did the whispers and murmurs that followed. They were going at it again? Millie envied Val. She couldn't remember the last time someone had fucked her twice in one night.

Laying back, she casually stroked herself in anticipation. The thought of listening and bringing herself off while naked by the river excited her. She ran two fingers through her pussy, feeling the gathering moisture.

There were more movements and voices then Val said, "No more! I'm sore. I have to sleep."

It was the first harsh tone she had heard from Val.

Sounds of movement stopped and Troy said something in apologetic tones. She pictured him rock hard and aching as Val rolled away to fall asleep, feeling as horny and disappointed as Millie did at that moment.

She sighed and sat up, wishing away the excitement she had built.

Her blood froze at the sound of a zipper opening and closing, followed by the padding of footsteps. It had to be Troy. Millie tucked her knees to her chin, hoping the night would hide her.

He threw a branch into the fire. Sparks soared followed by licks of flame. Over her shoulder, Millie spied Troy's breathtaking body in the glow, his muscled chest and arms starkly outlined, his cock hanging half-hard.

"Millie?" he said. "Is everything okay?"

She curled tighter as he approached. "I'm fine. Couldn't sleep."

He squatted beside her, looking out over the river.

"Yeah," he said, flinging a pebble. "It's really hot. I was going to take a swim. Cool down. Burn some energy." He looked at her. "Want to join me?"

"I... I'm naked."

"Well, how else are you going to swim? C'mon."

Standing, Troy offered his hand and pulled Millie to her feet. He scanned her from tits to toes.

Millie shifted from foot to foot but endured his gaze.

He smiled boyishly. "Wow."

"I know. I'm fat."

Troy scanned her again. "Mmmm, no. I wouldn't go that far. You're womanly. And sexy."

Millie gasped, then crinkled her nose. "Get real, Troy."

He shrugged. "You're sexier than the self-centered twigs who go after me. And a lot more interesting. Now, come on, will ya?"

Troy took her hand, pulling her behind him into the river. The muddy bottom sucked at her toes as they waded. When he was waist deep, he began swimming into the inky water. Millie followed, breast-stroking behind him. When he reached the middle of the river, he treaded water waiting for her.

She looked back at the distant flickers of the fire before Troy began swimming upriver with powerful strokes. Millie hurried to follow, loving the water flowing over every part of her. Within minutes, worry and embarrassment faded as she tracked behind Troy.

The fire was almost out of sight when he stopped. Millie was breathing hard when she caught up.

"Isn't this great?" he said.

Millie admitted it felt pretty great. "But isn't this risky?

"Why? We'll find our way back. And if anything nibbles your bum..." He grinned. "I'll take care of it."

"The nibbler, or my bum," she asked.

"Both, of course! Hey, wanna try something? Do this."

He lay back, head resting in the water. Millie tried to ignore his lolling dick when it broke the surface and imitated him, laying back to float. Troy reached over and grasped her hand.

"Now we just float with the current," he said. "Keep your head back and drift."

Millie figured she had more than enough natural buoyancy and tried to ignore how her boobs stuck above the surface. When Troy looked at her, he simply smiled, never once glancing down.

Together they drifted like sleepy otters as the stars and silhouetted treetops glided by. Millie relaxed as she got used to it, reassured by Troy's firm grip keeping them together.

As the camp area approached, Troy sculled with his free hand to bring them closer to shore. Millie helped from her side until both their feet nudged the riverbank.

Troy helped her to her feet. "Nice, huh? Think you'll be able to sleep now?"

"I will," she said. "That was completely amazing. Thank you." She leaned in and kissed his cheek. He leaned too and her nipples grazed his chest, tiny sparks shivering through her.

Parting, he stood there, water beaded on his gorgeous body, looking at her passively.

Did he expect her to invite him to her tent? He was probably horny after Val had denied him. And Val said she would be doing her a favor. But what would she really think if she found her in the morning arm-in-arm with Troy?

Languid, middle of the night sex with a gorgeous hunk would help her sleep even better.

Fuck it. She would do it. She'd ask Troy to join her.

Millie took a breath to speak, but at exactly that moment Troy said, "Well, good night. I really enjoyed our swim."

Before she could react, he turned and padded back to his tent.

As she zipped herself back inside her own tent, Millie fought tears. Why hadn't she called him back? Why could she never just take what was offered?

~~~~

How she hated the sound of crows. Two of the evil bastards woke Millie with their obnoxious grating calls.

She found herself starfished on her back, laying on her sleeping bag in the gathering summer heat. Her watch said 10:00am. Shit! She never slept that late, especially when she had a full day of paddling to reach the next camping area.

Sitting up, she peered out. Val and Troy's tent was gone, and their boats were gone. They left without a goodbye?

Crawling out, Millie stood and stretched. A slight breeze caressed her. It was so refreshing, she decided to stay naked while loading everything into her kayak.

At the cold campfire ring, she found a slip of paper held down by a stone. Precise, looping script read:

Millie - Thank you so much for your hospitality and your company. I feel like we've met a new friend. We will be camping on the beach at the coast for a few days when we get there. We hope to see you. Good luck on your journey! -- Val

Amazing. Wonderful. Delightful! Millie wished they had woken her, or, better that she had woken before them, even if only to hug them goodbye.

Maybe she could still catch them! Skip breakfast, throw everything in her boat and paddle in a fury. They couldn't be that far ahead, right?

Who was she kidding? It was past ten. They had probably left at dawn. Plus, they had paddled from the put-in past the first camping area all in one day. They'd probably do the same all the way to the coast, while Millie puttered along pathetically down the river.

Would they still be at the coast when she got there? Or would she see them as they came back upriver? If they were coming back, that is. Val had mentioned something about going on to some other destination.

And wasn't the whole point of the trip to be alone? Millie had been fine by herself the first two days and now she felt eager for company? How was she going to reinvent herself, rediscover herself, unless she did the trip alone?

Millie ate an energy bar while she took down her tent and stowed her gear back into the holds of her boat.

She checked her guidebook. She would have to hurry to make it to the next camping area in time. With a finger, she traced the path along the river: just before the next camping area were the rapids Val said were easy, then there were two more camping spots before she would reach the coast. It seemed an impossible distance. Why didn't she pick a shorter trip for her first time out?

Once packed and dressed, Millie donned her life jacket and seated herself in her kayak. Pushing away from the shore, she peered towards the next river bend while the gentle current carried her downstream. She rotated her shoulders, feeling the tightness returning and an ache in her muscles even before she had paddled one stroke.

Her water bottle rolled from beneath her seat. Millie reached to grab it just as her boat hit a large root that arced up from under the surface.

Cold, murk and muffled watery noises. After a confused moment, Millie realized she had capsized. Okay, she told herself, she wouldn't panic. She'd practised this.

Surfacing, Millie had kept hold of her paddle, but the boat was drifting down river, just out of reach and getting further away every second.

She swam after it, difficult while wearing a life jacket and holding a paddle. Closing the distance, she reached out only for slick hull to graze her fingertips and scoot out of reach. Swimming harder, she got closer and grabbed one of the bungee straps.

Millie clung to her water-filled boat as they drifted together. The hatches were closed: the kayak wouldn't sink. She just had to get back in like she had practised at the paddle shack.

One way was to launch yourself onto the bow of the boat, using the paddle for stability, then inchworm towards the rear, staying low and not tip over until you could get your legs in the cockpit and turn around.

Heaving onto the front deck like a sea lion lurching onto a log, Millie fought for balance, but the kayak rolled, submerging her in the gloomy water. She tried again with the same result.

After the third try, Millie resigned herself to swimming back to the camping area, tugging the boat behind. She swam, life jacket nearly choking her, yanking the waterlogged kayak along against the current.

Once she reached the camping area, Millie pulled her boat free of the river and turned it over to dump out the water.

Fuck! She felt like such a fool. Bitterly, she thought, "Well, I've dumped twice. I'm a real kayaker now."

She was soaked, but she had her paddle and the boat's hatches had stayed sealed. The expensive binoculars she kept under the bungee straps on the front deck were gone. Her water bottle was gone.

Spreading her life jacket across the kayak to dry, she stripped naked, wrung out her clothes and dropped them into a plastic bag she then stuffed into the forward hold.

Millie sat on the packed earth of the camping area, letting the sun dry her body.

Why did she think she could do such a trip? She couldn't even get back in the boat, despite practising doing just that again and again. If it happened away from the camp area, the riverbank was so choked she would have had no choice but to drift with the current, bobbing like a turd until the next clearing.

It was almost eleven. If she paddled like a demon, she might, just might, get to the next camping area by dark. Even if she made it, it was two more days to the coast, only to turn around and paddle all the way back again.

Impossible. Stupid. Dangerous. Her shoulder ached again, her arms felt like lead, and she was depleted from swimming and pulling the boat. If she didn't reach the next campsite before dark, she could paddle right past it and never know.

The previous camping area was closer. Even paddling against the light current, she could get there sooner. Then she would camp one more night and be back at her car at the put-in by the end of the next day.

Later, in dry clothes and back in her boat, Millie pushed off from the shore and pointed upriver towards where she had come. Falling in was a sign, she thought. The universe was looking out for her for a change, telling her to go back.

She remembered when the author of Wild faced a similar moment when she met a bull on the trail:

"I considered my options. There were only two and they were essentially the same. I could go back in the direction I had come from, or I could go forward in the direction I intended to go."

Millie reflected on how none of what she had been through had been as dire as the author encountered in Wild. Even after losing her hiking boot down a cliff, Cheryl had gone on.

Millie pictured camping at the coast, burning driftwood at night, falling asleep to the sound of crashing surf, sleeping late and staying as long as she wanted. She pictured Val and Troy still being there when she arrived.

While she pondered, the current turned Millie's boat sideways then, like a fat compass needle, pointed it downriver.

"Fuck you, universe!" she yelled and stabbed a middle finger at the sky. She began paddling downriver, forward in the direction she intended to go.

~~~~

She wasn't going to make it.

Millie had paddled furiously all day, making every stroke count, but was losing her race against the sun.

It had now sunk below the trees, throwing slanted rays onto the water. That soon became purple twilight and Millie paddled harder, fighting her growing despair. No one paddled rivers at night. It was too easy to hit something, miss a bend in the river and run aground and if you dumped... she couldn't get back in her boat that morning. In the dark, it would be twice as impossible.

As the light dimmed, Millie strapped her headlamp to her forehead. She thought they looked stupid, but they were far more practical than flashlights.

She was tightening the straps when she heard it: rushing water. The rapids.

How the fuck did she forget there was fast water before the next camping area? Val said it was nothing to worry about, but Val had done whitewater kayaking.

There was no time to react. Her boat nosed over a ledge into fast water and Millie fought to stay upright. She had no idea what to do other than stay in the middle of the roiling mess as she sped and bounced through the waves. Her kayak kept turning sideways, guaranteeing she would capsize, so she heaved against the water to force the bow straight, first on one side when it veered left, then on the other when it veered right.

She hit an eddy and with a sickening lurch, spun backwards. Millie kept her balance as she bounced along stern-first, craning to see over her shoulder, waiting for a calm patch. When she reached one, she strained and strained to pull the bow around again.

By the time the water calmed, Millie had mastered keeping the boat straight and out of trouble. Though her heart thudded and her muscles burned from the effort, she was enjoying the ride. Val was right: it was no big deal.

Except now the sun was gone. There was only the light of the Milky Way arcing above, silhouetting the treetops. The river had become an inky expanse, the same black as the forest and brush that walled the riverbanks.

She turned her headlamp on at the highest setting, but the beam only lit the water short distance past the nose of her boat. Her guidebook had shown the next camping area was on the left, not far past the rapids, so she hugged the riverbank, scanning for a break in the jumble of dense brush and trees. She should be able to see it.

Paddling in the blackness, peering ahead for obstacles while scanning the riverbank, Millie ignored her mounting panic, the pain in her shoulder and how numb her ass felt.

The river seemed endless as she paddled on, desperately scanning for the camping spot. In the unchanging dark, only the trees marching by indicated progress. The gloomy woods reminded Millie of those carnival fun houses where you stumbled along uneven corridors in pitch black until a neon skeleton lit up, jiggling and cackling.

Off to the right came a splash. Millie's thoughts filled with threatening possibilities as she heard something swimming closer. Something paddled across her bow, and she yelped. In her headlamp, she glimpsed something small and dark before it disappeared. She was sure it was a rat before realizing it was only an otter.

"You scared the shit out of me!" she yelled. "You otter know better."

"Great," Millie thought with a giggle. "I'm exhausted, dehydrated and I'm cracking dad jokes. What next? Seeing things?"

Later, seeing things is exactly what she thought when dancing yellow light appeared far ahead.

With my luck, it's a forest fire, she joked to herself.

She drew closer and saw two yellow dagger-thin kayaks. A muscular guy with long hair was just lowering himself into one of them when he saw her.

Millie felt weightless with joy. Troy! With Val silhouetted in the cheery blaze of their campfire.

~~~~

When Val spied Millie, she waved and whooped, running to the river's edge.

Millie expected her to be naked, but she wore clinging rowing shorts and a sports top. She waded into the river to pull Millie's boat onto shore. Troy helped her from her boat.

"We were so worried," Val said, pulling Millie into a hug. "Troy was just about to go look for you."

Millie hugged her back, overwhelmed by Val's concern, basking in the comfort of her embrace,

"I can't believe you're here!" Millie said.

"I was pretty wiped today," said Val. "And we thought this would be a nice surprise." She pulled back. "Or are we intruding on your solitude again?"

Millie pulled her close. "Oh, shit, Val. I've had enough solitude for now. I'm so happy to see you both."

Val guided Millie up to the fire. Troy, clad only in rowing shorts, again offered her his chair. Val brought water, food, and produced a cup of wine while Troy stood behind, dutifully working the stress from Millie's shoulders and back.

Millie had never felt so welcome and cared for. She recounted dumping at the last campsite, lugging her boat upstream and navigating the rapids when it was nearly dark.

Val listened intently. "That must have been terrifying. The rapids are a little rougher than I remembered. I got worried when you didn't show by dark, but I had a feeling you'd manage. You're tough."

Millie didn't feel tough. She felt sweaty and blasted by adrenaline, but a new confidence glowed within her.

"I want to learn whitewater kayaking," she said. "Get one of those little boats that look like a slipper."

Val chuckled. "It is a lot of fun."

Behind her, Troy had moved to massaging the flesh of her lower back, exactly where she needed it.

"Your back is totally tense," he said. "Would you be comfortable taking off your shirt and bra again?"

Did he always have to be such a gentleman? After floating together naked the previous night?

"I'm all sweaty. I must stink. Let me rinse off first."

Millie stood and walked to the river, shucking clothes on the way.

"I'll join you," said Val. "I'm all sweaty too."

Naked, Millie waded in up to her thighs. Val dropped her clothes on the ground and waded in beside her, looking trim and delightful. She smiled. Millie loved how her smile spread to light every part of her lovely face.