Half to Death Read Online Free

down at myself, hardly recognizable. My mind blank. I released her hand with a gasp and quickly began retelling everything as I saw and felt it as though I were recounting a dream I was afraid I’d forget. Miranda blinked at the barrage of information. I saw the realization dawn on her face, her eyes widen. Her bottom lip began to tremble as I described in detail her feelings, her fear.
    After I finished, we sat quietly as tears streamed down her cheeks. I wanted to cry. For the first time in my life, I wanted to release the emotion pounding inside my chest, but I couldn’t. Instead, I stared at the floor as the memory of what I’d seen flashed through my mind.
    “Oh, my God.” Miranda sank back onto the couch and covered her face with her hands.
    I let her cry, afraid to touch her. Afraid of what else I might see. “I want to…comfort you, but…”
    “I know,” Miranda said through her tears.
    I smiled ruefully. “I’ve been thinking about what this will mean for me from now on. Can you imagine what sex would be like? Full body contact, and I’m watching videos of that person’s life. I’ll never have an orgasm I didn’t personally cause again.”
    “Oh,” Miranda said with a sniff. “That’s a real concentration breaker, isn’t it?”
    “Yeah.” My shoulders sagged. “I’m either going to have to become a hermit or live my life telling one lie after the other to hide what I’ve become.”
    “Maybe you could wear gloves,” Miranda said, sounding more like herself.
    “Welder’s gloves maybe, something thick like that.” I was actually considering it.
    “Maybe you can learn to control it. You’ve always been really good at blocking things out. That might just work to your advantage.”
    “I understand why you needed to see a shrink.” I glanced at her quickly and looked away. “If that had been you, I would’ve been pretty messed up.”
    Miranda sighed long and loud. “Nothing has ever scared me that bad.” She reached out to touch me, then let her hand drop in her lap. “Are you telling me everything? You didn’t have an out-of-body experience while you were…down.”
    “I did see some angels. They were wearing Krispy Kreme hats, and as they flapped their wings, hot doughnuts appeared.” I banged one of the doughnuts Miranda brought. “Unlike these, they weren’t made of stone.”
    Miranda threw back her head and laughed. “You are such an asshole. I love ya.”
    *******
    The gym was full, and Miranda and I waited to use leg presses. We stood side by side careful not to brush against each other. “Wouldn’t you like to touch P.P. and see what all her secrets are? Probably one sexual escapade after another.” Miranda chuckled. “It’d be like interactive porn.” She lowered her voice. “You’d definitely have an orgasm that way.”
    P.P. was the nickname we’d given Jade—Perfection Personified. She was across the room working with one of her clients wearing nothing but a pair of black spandex shorts and matching sports bra. I watched the muscles bunch and move under perfectly tanned skin, one part lust, the other envy. My arms had toned nicely, but the muscles there did not compare to what Jade was working with. Her stomach had that washboard look you only saw in commercials advertising diet aids or workout equipment.
    “Thanks for putting up with my jokes,” Miranda said seriously. “We’ve spent the day grappling with the magnitude of this…thing, and I just needed a release. You know I’m not making light of what you’re dealing with.”
    “Oh, that goes without saying. I’ve been dealing with this for two months, so it’s refreshing to sort of make fun of it.”
    Miranda didn’t speak again until we had completed our first rep on the leg press. I lay stomach down on the one next to her and watched Jade demonstrate how to use the elliptical machine to a man who already looked weary.
    “So what do you think? Should we take her up on her offer and let her