Her hushed excitement was apparently as she drew a card from behind her back and handed it to him. He peered at the white envelope and saw his name written in dancer's cursive, all swirls and lines. In a whisper said like a prayer, she begged “open it”. He fumbled with the seam, gently tearing it open to see what she had said. Her words cooed and melted, oozing with adoration and he felt a pang of disgust. Every sentence was a red flag, a starved street dog begging for attention and he forced a smile. 

The snarl on his face caught her off balance; had she done it wrong? The card said “Thank You”…

Okay, peculiar direction BUT hear me out: Penalty - carded - red/yellow cards - red flags. That was the thought process. 

The story then was a girl trying to thank a guy who hates women who are “too desperate” when they're just doing normal considerate human being things. So… yeah. That's what's happening up there.