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“Aaaaaand she’s definitely coming over here,” Miri practically singsonged.

“Fuck,” Jade said, running her fingers through her week-old silk press. “I was not prepared for this today. What the hell am I supposed to even say to her?”

“You could try being nice.”

Jade shot Miri a withering look that her best friend returned with a grin just before Lim came to stand by them.

“Um… hey.”

“Hi,” Jade said with what she hoped was blatant disinterest.

“Do y’all mind if I sit here?” She pointed to the stool to the left of Jade. “There’s no way I’m getting a table to myself tonight.”

Jade went silent, decidedly not answering. Miri sent a kick to her shin under the bar that almost made her eyes water.

“Of course you can sit,” Miri answered with a smile. “I’m Miri, by the way.”

Lim smiled as she took her seat. Jade could instantly smell the coconut scent of her hair, and it made her mouth wet.

“I’m Franny,” she said. “I hope I’m not interrupting a date or anything…”

“She fucking wishes.” Miri snorted. “We’re just friends.”

Jade couldn’t pass up the chance to get her licks back, even if it meant having to give up her little show of ignoring Lim.

“She’s the most insufferable person I’ve ever met in my life, and she won’t leave me alone.”

Lim’s eyes seemed to light up with opportunity, one of those signature smirks appearing across her lips. “That’s relatable.”

Jade narrowed her eyes.

Their little red-faced waiter reappeared with Jade’s and Miri’s food, taking Lim’s order before running off again. Jade took a knife to her patty melt, cutting it down the middle. Steam rose up from between the two sides, and because she didn’t feel like completely sloughing off the skin on the roof of her mouth, she bit into a fry while she waited for it to cool down.

“What are you doing here anyway?” she asked Lim.

“Same thing as you,” Lim said, raising an eyebrow. “Trying to have a meal.”

“No, I mean… I didn’t know out-of-towners even knew about Minnie’s.”

“I’ve been here two years, and my ex brought me here basically the second we crossed into the city limits.”

She shouldn’t have been, but Jade was nosy by nature, and the mere mention of an ex made her perk up. Luckily, her best friend was just as nosy as she was but had way fewer qualms about hiding the quality.

“Ohhh, an ex,” Miri said with a wiggle of her eyebrows. “Anyone we’d know?”

Lim’s mouth turned down, and she shrugged. “Maybe. I mean, she grew up here, so you must, right? Greenbelt is definitely an everybody-knows-everybody type of place.”

Jade had to chuckle genuinely at that. “Not necessarily everybody. A lot of people, for sure. I’d say weknow ofmore people than we actually know. The wealthy families of Greenbelt don’t concern themselves much with the rest of us unless they need us to scrub their floors or check out their groceries.”

“That makes sense. I think it’s like that in a lot of places, just on a bigger scale.”

“The ex,” Miri butted in to remind them.

“Oh, right.” Lim rubbed a hand on the back of her neck, and Jade spotted a small half-broken heart tattoo on her inner arm; the inside of it had been filled in with black ink. “Caroline Bailey.”

Jade’s head shot around to look at Miri, their eyes widening.

“You were in a relationship with Caroline Bailey?” Miri asked incredulously.