Page 39 of Red Flag, Green Light

“Hm?” She scrolls on her phone screen and grimaces at whatever she finds.

I clear my throat. “Do you, perchance, also have an unhealthy attachment to Brian Single?” Every. Last. Freaking. Woman. I knew growing up was head over heels for that guy. And for why?? I never quite knew. He was a blond kid obsessed with mail. Kind, sure. Outgoing, fine. Butblond. Has his hair since darkened minutely, appearing light brown in the winter season?Sure. Is he by any meanstall, dark, and handsome? No.

He’s shorter than me, by a comparable margin. And I know I’m not one to speak, but the shoulders? Mid. They are mid. Basic.Vanilla. If he weren’t moving packages all day, they’d be pathetic, I’m positive. Since he is moving packages all day…they aren’tpatheticexactly…but…that’s not important.

He’s still five-foot-ten, and that is the hill I will die on.

Ceres is staring at me by the time I pull out of my inner monologue.

She remains staring at me a full minute beyond my thought rampage.

Her eyes narrow.

She says, “Do I have an unhealthy attachment to…Amelia’sBrian?”

Oh no. Oh no, no, no. She said that in the same way Brian saidJove’s Lyra. We’re the soulmates, not them. I might half-squeak my response of, “Mhm.”

Holding burning eye contact, she stabs a chip into her cheese and crunches it. “He’s basically the blond prince option in a reverse harem anime. The Tamaki in the world of Ouran.” Her gaze returns to her phone as relief swarms me.

“You’re more of a Hikaru fan, aren’t you?” AKA, the mischievous troublemaker archetype.

Ceres puffs a scoff. “Um. No. It’s been a minute since I’ve seen the show. I like the big one.”

My heart sinks. Feeble, I say, “Kyoya?” The taciturn smart one? With the questionable moral code in that one episode where he maybe pins the female lead to a bed?

Ceres cuts her fingers through her fiery waves. “Mori, I think.”

Ah.

Cool.

The…tall, dark, silent protector character.

TheJovey.

That’s fine. Totally fine. I’m not worried about itat all.

“Ceres?”

“Yeah?”

“Do you like my brother?”

“Jupiter?”

I twitch. “Jove. Yes. Him. I only have one brother.”

She finishes her nachos and locks her phone to meet my eyes. “Yeah. Why?”

My poor heart shatters…noticeably before I could get my darling Ceres written into my will.

Ahaha.

Darn.

“No…reason.”

She crumples her trash. “’Kay? I’ll see if I can book the fairgrounds online later today, then I’ll see if online is also an option where it concerns applying for the permits we need. Try to get ahead on next week’s tasks and all that. Sound good?”

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