I look out into the parking lot and squint to make sure I'm not going crazy. Walking up with a bouquet of flowers is Justin. He's wearing a muscle tee, and my eyes settle on the part of his tattoo that's not covered up by the plastic holding the flowers. When he reaches me, I feel my face heat up and before I can say anything, he hands me the yellow roses. "I think we need a do over, and I'm not letting you go. But um...here's to friendship until then. If you'll accept." He looks so flustered and unsure of himself as I eye the flowers but don't take them immediately. It takes a long time for me to both find my voice and lose my pride. Finally I do something neither of us expect, and hug him by his neck. "Okay," I whisper, and don't let go.

| WATTPAD EDITOR'S CHOICE | Major Aula Reed is a Canadian fighter pilot, veteran astronaut, and closeted bisexual. She's stationed on the second International Lunar Base or ILUB-2 with seven other crewmates. To be separated from Earth means facing radiation, meteorites, and equipment failure while under constant public scrutiny. For Aula, it also means struggling with memories of ILUB-1: the worst disaster in space exploration since the shuttle era. While she tries not to let her first mission overshadow her second, the Moon is an unforgiving place. It only takes one mistake, no matter how small, for history to repeat itself. This is a story of the near future informed by the lives of today's astronauts, whose triumphs and tragedies are immortalized in the public eye.