Love Triangle ➳ Joseph Morgan & Daniel Gillies

#36 [ Real Life ]

I stared at my phone as the time changed to 6:48. My heart was beating intensely in my chest, and I could feel my palms perspire. I was incredibly nervous for tonight.

"Riley?" Claire's voice called for me as she walked out of my spare bedroom while putting her earrings in. "Have you seen my —" She stopped dead in her tracks as her eyes found me. "Wow."

Tucking my hair behind my ear, I felt my face flush. "Thank you." I managed, looking down at my feet.

"You look gorgeous, Riley." She made her way over to me and placed her hands on either side of my arms, looking my body up and down. "Wow." She repeated, laughing breathily.

"I look that good, huh?" I asked, genuinely wanting her to reply.

"You look way better than good." She stepped back and slightly moved turned her head towards the room she just came out of, keeping her eyes on me. "Phoebs! Come in here and look at our best friend." Claire called to Phoebe as she continued undressing me with her eyes.

"Jo said he'd be here at seven, righ-- Holy shit." She stopped mid-word, her eyes widening as they fixated on me. "Damn, Riley. You look amazing."

"You think so?" I looked between my best friends anxiously.

"I know so. Come here." Phoebe beckoned me to her, and I listened, walking towards her while my legs shook due to my nerves. "It's okay to be nervous, Riles." Phoebe laughed breathily, guiding me into the bathroom. She steered me, with her hands on my shoulders, towards the full length mirror that was hung on the wall and stopped in front of it. "Look at you. You have nothing to be nervous about. You look beautiful."

I stared into the mirror at myself. The way I looked in the black, lace dress was shocking. I actually looked beautiful and felt beautiful, too. The way the dress hugged my body and brought out the intensity of my eye color made me feel even more confident in myself.

"What do you think?" Claire asked from the doorway of the bathroom. I looked at her through the mirror then looked back at myself.

"I feel beautiful."

"And you look beautiful." She responded. I felt my lips curve into a goofy grin when I realized that she was right. I looked and felt beautiful tonight, and that was one of the most amazing feelings I had ever experienced.

The three of us were startled by a sudden knock at the door. Claire grinned wildly at me. "That must be Jo. I'll invite him in." She walked off, leaving Phoebe and me in my bathroom.

"Ready?" She asked. I took a deep breath and nodded hesitantly. I hadn't been to a dance since high school, and even then, I was never pretty enough to be asked to go with a boy, so this was something that genuinely had me anxious. This was the first time I had ever been asked to a dance, let alone being asked by two guys.

"If you need some time, I'm sure Joseph won't mind waiting a few minutes while you calm down." She said, placing a hand on my shoulder to comfort me. I let out a breath and looked myself up and down once more.

"No," I said confidently. "No, I'm ready."

She smiled and stepped back, allowing me enough space to walk out of the bathroom without invading her personal space. I stepped out cautiously and made my way towards the living room. I noticed Joseph before he noticed me.

He was talking to Claire by the front door with his hands running through his hair. I noticed that he did that when he was nervous. He looked dashing in his suit, and I realized that I had never really seen Joseph in a suit. He always wore casual clothing, but he almost never wore suits or anything like that. Not if he could help it.