Small Steps (Holes 2)

“You all right?”

She laughed.

“That was close,” Armpit said.

Kaira smiled at him as she let her palm slide down his arm, then held his hand.

They walked along the dirt path, continuing to hold hands. “So you’re not worried I’ll try to kill you now that you ditched your bodyguard?”

“You?” asked Kaira. “Are you kidding? You’re such a wimp.”

Armpit pointed out the bridge with the bats.

“I don’t like bats,” said Kaira. “They’re creepy.”

“So, like has Fred ever had to save your life or anything?” he asked her.

“All you talk about is the Doofus!”

“I was just curious.”

“Mostly he just keeps people from getting too close to me. Of course, it kind of makes it hard to meet guys. I mean, what guy wants to go out with a girl and her bodyguard? You try to kiss her and you risk getting your head blown off.”

Did she squeeze his hand when she said the word “kiss”? If she did, it wasn’t a big squeeze. Just a little twinge.

What he should have said was “I’ll risk it,” and then kissed her. That would have been really smooth, but by the time he thought of it, it was too late. The timing was off.

They continued along the river.

“I get all kinds of weird letters,” said Kaira. “I’ve gotten seven marriage proposals! One guy claims to be a billionaire Arab prince.”

“You think he really is?”

“Why, you want to marry him?” asked Kaira.

Armpit laughed.

“They’re all freakazoids. There’s this one who calls himself Billy Boy, you know, like that song.” She sang very softly: “Oh, where have you been, Billy Boy, Billy Boy? Oh, where have you been, charming Billy?”

Hearing her voice while holding her hand was almost too much for him to take.

“He wants to marry you?” asked Armpit.

“No, he wants to kill me.”

“Really?”

“Seriously. He’s written like five letters so far, saying he’s going to break my pretty little neck. I even got one at this hotel.”

Armpit couldn’t help looking around behind him.

Kaira laughed. “It’s so lame,” she said. “He even cuts out little letters and glues them to the paper.”

“You’re not scared?”

“You’ll protect me.”

“Me? I’m a wimp.”