The Text That Ended Date Night

Dear Diary

It's Friday, 3:11 a.m.

I should be asleep.

My makeup is only half removed, one heel is somewhere near the front door, and I can still hear all of us screaming every time I close my eyes. So obviously, I need to write this down first.

Tonight started as a very normal date night. Dinner, a little walking around afterward, and my husband fully embracing his unpaid role as my Instagram husband. He was standing in the middle of the sidewalk with my phone, taking this job much more seriously than necessary.

“Turn toward the light.”

“No, the other light.”

“Do that thing with the sunglasses again.”

Honestly, he might be better at this than I am.

I was wearing my Espresso Martini tee with chocolate-brown lace underneath and little black heels. Nothing planned. Nothing special. Just a casual night out that somehow became a full photo shoot because he is a very good sport and I apparently do not understand the meaning of “just one picture.”

Then my phone lit up in his hand, a text from Sabrina.

Sabrina: Nobu. 9:30. I have news.

That was it. No emoji. No explanation. And Sabrina uses emojis to ask whether we want coffee, so naturally this felt alarming.

By the time he handed me the phone, the group chat had already become completely unhinged.

Bella wanted to know if she was okay. Blake asked if we needed to be mad at someone. Victoria had already called twice. Kaia sent one question mark, which somehow made everything feel worse.

Sabrina read every message.

She answered none of them.

I looked at my husband and said, “Sabrina needs me.”

He looked at the text, unlocked the car and said, “Come on. I’ll take you.” That was it.

No sighing because our date was suddenly over. No questions. He drove me there, kissed me at the curb and told me to call when I was ready to come home.

Prince Charming behavior, honestly. ♡

Anyway.

I walked into Nobu expecting… I do not even know what I expected. Tears? A breakup? Someone quitting her job? Sabrina announcing she was moving to another country and had already packed?

Instead, there were six espresso martinis waiting on the table.

Six.

I looked at the drinks. Then I looked down at my shirt. Of course. Apparently, the universe had sent me a dress code and forgotten to include the explanation.

My first thought was that the whole thing was almost too perfectly coordinated.

My second thought was, Oh, we are definitely not sleeping tonight.

Sabrina was sitting there acting far too calm for someone who had just summoned all of us across town at 9:30 on a Friday night. She asked about my date. Complimented Bella’s bag. Started discussing appetizers like we had all gathered there for a perfectly ordinary dinner. Meanwhile, she avoided eye contact for too long.

I noticed that part later. At the time, we were too busy interrogating her. She kept laughing and telling us to relax, which obviously made none of us relax. Blake was convinced she had quit her job. Bella thought she was moving. Victoria kept watching her face like she could extract the truth through eye contact alone.

And then Sabrina reached into her purse.

Everything stopped.

She pulled out a tiny velvet pouch, slipped something onto her finger and placed her left hand right in the middle of the table.

The ring caught the light.

Bella screamed first. Then all of us did. There were tears immediately. Hands everywhere. Everyone trying to hold Sabrina’s hand at the same time. Blake yelling that she needed the entire proposal story from the beginning. Victoria asking questions so fast Sabrina could not answer them. Kaia crying and laughing at once.

And me?

I was staring at my girl, happier than I have ever seen her, trying very hard not to ruin my makeup while absolutely ruining my makeup.

We knew she and her boyfriend would get married someday. They have been together forever. That was never the surprise. The surprise was that someday had already happened.

One espresso martini became another. Dinner became dessert. The proposal story was told at least three times because we kept interrupting it. Somehow we were discussing wedding dresses, flowers and bridesmaid colors before Sabrina had even finished showing us the ring.

By the time we checked the clock, it was almost three in the morning.

Good thing the drinks came with coffee.

A

nd now I am home, still smiling, still slightly wired, and still wearing the shirt I put on for what was

supposed to be a normal date night.

WOOHOOOOO---SABRINA IS ENGAGED!!!

I cannot wait to watch my girl step into this next chapter. I cannot wait for the planning, the dresses, the tears, the ridiculous group chats and every little moment between now and the day she says “I do.”

Some clothes remind you where you bought them.

The good ones remind you where you were.

xoxo,

Sophia ♡

The Text That Ended Date Night | Espresso Martini Tee | SQB