It Was Me Read Online Free PDF

had to bury my face in a pillow to stifle my own yelling. She fell onto me, burying her face in my neck as her body writhed and convulsed against me, her own screams muffled against my skin.
    It was a hell of a lot better than thinking.
    Reluctantly, I'd let her head to the living room to sleep. Going to bed without her, especially when she was just in the other room, was tough and I tossed and turned for awhile before I finally drifted off.
    I was up semi-early. I'd trained myself to be an early riser, so I could run and work out. My body didn't know I was on vacation and I figured, since my body didn't know any better, I might as well keep up the routine. I threw on a pair of shorts and my running shoes, trying to convince myself I wanted to go.
    Abby was already awake and dressed when I made it to the living room.
    “Hey,” she said, smiling at me, coffee already in her hand.
    I leaned down and kissed her. “Hey.”
    “You're running?”
    “Apparently. I was awake.”
    “I thought you might sleep in.”
    “Me, too. No dice.”
    She nodded. “Okay. I'm gonna go run to the store with my mom. Groceries and some other stuff. She's getting ready now. We shouldn't be long. You don't mind?”
    I shook my head. “No, it's fine. I'll probably be gone for awhile, anyway.”
    “Okay. Don't pass out in the heat.”
    I leaned down and kissed her again, lingering a bit longer this time, tasting the coffee and toothpaste from her lips.
    “I'm invincible,” I said. “Heat can't stop me.”
    “Well, I'll hope your massive head doesn't explode in the high temperatures then.”
    “Almost funny, Ms. Sellers,” I said, heading for the door. “Almost.”
    “I try,” she called after me.
    There was no cool morning air, just the leftover sauna-like heat from the day before. I had trouble getting myself going, the warm oxygen filling my lungs like sand, but I finally adjusted, got my legs to start turning over, and was able to start breathing normally. I followed the same path Abby and I had walked the night before, the roadrunners replaced by lizards, the emerald green grass that separated the resort from the desert electric in the early morning sun. Sprinklers were on full blast, drenching the grass in hopes that it could survive another day of hundred degree temperatures. I was the only one out running. There were other peopled out on the trail but they were walking leisurely, probably wondering what the shirtless lunatic was doing running when it was so damn hot out.
    I wound my way to the back of the trail and took off on a sandy hiking path that took me right to the bottom of the foothills. I stopped when I reached the foot of the mountain, catching my breathing and futilely trying to mop off some of the sweat from my with my hands. I found a small patch of dry grass and dropped down, doing several sets of push-ups, sit-ups, planks and squats, the best I could do without weights to simulate my normal lifting routine. I downed the single water bottle I'd brought with me, then headed back, a bit slower, the heat beginning to sap my energy. I slowed to a walk as I came to the casita and glanced at my watch. I'd been gone ninety minutes and I was sweating so badly I wondered how many pounds I'd taken off.
    I opened the door to the casita and was greeted by a blast of cool, air-conditioned air. I shut the door behind me, standing in the entry way, letting the vent above my head blow down on me.
    “Did you go running or swimming?” Abby asked as she came around the corner from the living room.
    “Running,” I panted. “I think.”
    She looked me up and down. “I'll get you a towel.”
    She was back twenty seconds later with a fluffy white towel. She held it out to me. “You may need another.”
    “You think?”
    I toweled off my head and my chest, then my neck and reached awkwardly around my back. I rubbed it over my head again and then one more time over my chest.
    “I swear,” Abby said, lowering her voice. “I've