And Then She Danced: Book One: Beginnings, #1

By Jaycee Rayner

Linda Serafina is a normal 15-year-old girl in the fall of 1973 who loves to go to the skating rink on Friday nights. One Friday night, she meets a mysterious boy her age named Rusty who knows how to skate backward and perform other dance-type moves with her and magically gets her to follow. He mysteriously disappears later and she never sees him again, yet when she goes to college, she accepts a part-time job in a dream research lab where she slips into a vivid dream where she and Rusty dance together divinely in a heavenly ballroom. As the years go by, she meets another exciting young man named Scott and earns her nursing license, yet her heart longs for Rusty to the point where she decides to learn ballroom dancing on her own to try to rekindle the feelings she experienced in her dream. Will Scott help her to appreciate what is right in front of her, or will she continue her dreams of dancing?

• Language: English
• Publisher: Jaycee Rayner
• Release date: Feb 10, 2025
• ISBN: 9798230260523

Jaycee Rayner

Hello, and thank you for reading this book! I have had a lifelong love of reading and writing and I have managed to travel to the four corners of the United States and also to Paris, France (twice). My subject matter tends to be on the quirky side because I'm quite quirky myself! 

Book preview

Chapter One

Willowville, Illinois

Linda Serafina had turned 15 the previous October, in 1973. Friday nights now held a whole new meaning for her. She and her friends always wanted to go out, sometimes heading to the local fast-food joint where they would sit for hours, chatting about everything—from who was the hottest sophomore boy to which teacher was the most ridiculous at Mainline South.

Very often, they went to the Groove n’ Glide skating rink. For young Linda, these were the most exhilarating experiences of all, combining her love for the freedom of movement with her budding sense of romance toward certain boys in her orbit. She usually went with her best friend, Jill, and one of their parents would act as chauffeur, driving them there and back.

On the way, Linda always confessed how nervous she felt. Jill would roll her eyes and say, That’s ridiculous. You’re one of the cutest girls out there. When they call for partner skate, guys are gonna fight each other to get close to you.

Yet Linda never felt confident. In her family of German and Italian descent, women tended to have slender waists and curvier bottoms—a trait shared by her mother, aunts, and both grand-mothers. Linda obsessed over her weight, stepping on the scale every single morning and letting the numbers dictate her mood for the day.

At 15, she stood 5 foot 4 inches tall and weighed 125 pounds—a healthy weight, as her doctor and parents repeatedly assured her. But when Linda looked in the full-length mirror, all she could see was a young woman destined to be shaped like a bowling pin.​ And she would always monitor her diet, turning down second helpings of her mother’s scrumptious meatloaf or choosing water to drink during school cafeteria lunches instead of soda.

These thoughts and others weighed on Linda's mind as they pulled into the skating rink parking lot. Thanksgiving was just a week away, and with the cooler weather and the high school football season winding down, attendance at Groove n’ Glide was sure to be higher than usual. That only added to Linda’s anxiety—so many boys to notice her, or worse, to ignore her.

As they stepped into the rink's vestibule, Linda spotted several boys from school. She recognized a few from French class, social studies, or algebra. No matter their appearance, her cheeks always flushed slightly at the sight of a familiar face.

Inside, the booming music hit her immediately, the bass reverberating through her chest. She thought she recognized the new song playing—it sounded like Rocky Mountain Way. At the skate rental counter inside the vestibule, Linda couldn’t help but regret not saving up her babysitting money or asking for roller skates as a birthday or Christmas gift. Size 6 skates usually fit her well, but the tan rental skates looked dull and dingy. She once again felt inferior to the girls with gleaming white skates—or those with skates in every color imaginable. Tracy McAllister, one of her acquaintances from school, sported neon pink roller skates, the envy of nearly every girl who frequented Groove n’ Glide. Once she and Jill had received their skates, they handed over their street shoes to the bored, middle-aged woman behind the counter, who stored them in cubbyholes along the wall. After lacing up, they rolled across the carpet and through the double swinging doors into the rink.

Linda always felt like she was entering another world. The management had installed subtle overhead lighting, but they also swirled bursts of color around the rink. At several points throughout the evening, a spotlight would shine on a crystal ball, sending twinkling sparkles splashing across the wooden floor. Linda was grateful for the subdued lighting; it made everyone seem on a more level playing field. The action had already started at the rink.

A deejay sat in the corner, announcing the next tunes with a loud, game-show-host voice. And here’s a new one from Elton John! he’d say, before the booming drums and tinkling piano of Benny and the Jets would pulse through the rink’s massive speakers.

Jill grinned. Come on! Let’s get rolling! The two of them skittered across the carpet and gingerly lifted their skates onto the slightly raised wooden floor of the rink.

For Linda, this was the point of no return. From here, it was either sink or swim. She’d have to push forward on her skates and blend in with the flow of boys and girls who had already hit the rink that evening.

As they made continuous loops around the perimeter of the rink, stopping short or skating too slowly made you vulnerable to being run over by one of the fancy waltzing skaters. Usually boys, they would zigzag in and out, weaving between the kids leisurely gliding along.

Linda recognized most of the boys who skated backwards and spun as they weaved through the floor. A few she knew from the high school, others came from nearby districts like Prairie View or Indian Creek, and Jill had once mentioned talking to one who’d come all the way from Terre Haute.

Then she saw him.

He was different from the other boys who would show off and smile smugly as they twirled and spun with varying degrees of grace through the crowd of skaters, while the girls glanced at them admiringly. He was tall—around 6 feet—and had the same lithe, athletic build she’d seen in Olympic ice skaters on TV, or the reed-like physique of basketball players. She could tell his hair was dark, but in the subdued light, she couldn’t make out the specific shade—whether it was black, brown, or auburn. He seemed somehow European, his face relaxed as he smiled slightly while careening around the rink with the other fancy-skating boys, weaving through the dozens of admiring girls.

She knew what boys from Europe looked like, thanks to the French films they often watched in class. The boys and young men from over there had a completely different look from those in the United States. Her mother always said you could spot someone from Europe by the nonplussed, innocent expression on their face, a contrast to the more guarded looks of people here. As she skated around the rink, Linda quickly realized she was paying too much attention to the mysterious new boy. Her skate wheels clicked against another girl’s, and they briefly interlocked. Linda whirled around and immediately recognized Paige Shanahan, a tall redhead who danced on the junior varsity drill team. Paige scowled at her and yelled, Watch it, you stupid bitch!

Linda’s heart pounded, the fear escalating. She had once become friends with one of her babysitting clients, a woman named Marie, who was a nurse at County East. Marie had always told her to take care of her heart because it was the one thing that needed the most attention as a person aged. Once her heartbeat slowed a bit, Linda tried to find Jill, and she felt a little calmer once she did.

Can we sit down and get a drink or something? Linda asked. She told Jill about her near collision with Paige, which made Jill raise an eyebrow.

Dang! She would’ve kicked your ass!

They both got Cokes from the snack bar.

As they drank and casually watched the skaters, Linda said, Hey, have you seen that new guy who’s one of the waltzers?

They both used the term waltzers to refer to the fancy-skating boys who showed up at Groove n’ Glide practically every Friday night. Jill replied that no, she hadn’t seen anyone new—just the usual collection of smirking show-off guys twirling and spinning around the rink, as they did every Friday night. Linda turned toward the rink, scanning for him. It didn’t take long.

There he is, right there, she said.

At first, Jill craned her neck, trying to see over the heads and bodies of the boys and girls swirling around the perimeter of the rink. Where?

Linda scanned the crowd, then tried to describe his clothes. He’s over there, she said. He’s wearing a red plaid lumberjack shirt with the sleeves rolled up to his elbows, and it looks like he’s got blue jeans with a belt and a big buckle. Jill laughed. You just described half the guys out there.

Well, he’s got dark hair. And, I don’t know, he just looks... kind of like he’s not from around here. I’m not sure if that makes sense.

Do you mean that one over there? Jill pointed directly at the young man Linda had been watching for most of the night at the rink.

Yes. Jill squinted, her nose crinkling as she watched him skate, weaving in and out of the other skaters on the floor. Linda knew this expression meant Jill was displeased and that she’d turn around with a negative comment.

He’s probably queer.

This shocked Linda. She had only recently learned the true meaning of the term. All through grade school and junior high, she’d assumed it meant obnoxious, because whenever someone in her class railed against someone by saying, You’re so queer, it was usually directed at a boy or girl with an annoying giggle or who screeched loudly at the wrong times.

Her mother and father had also kept her in the dark about the topic, but she remembered something her father had said while they were watching McMillan & Wife. He had remarked, That guy is as queer as a two-dollar bill, referring to the show’s star, Rock Hudson. For the time being, Linda tried to push the whole thing out of her mind.

After a while, both she and Jill finished their sodas, discarded the cups, and skated back onto the floor. For the first couple of laps, the two girls stayed fairly close as they coasted down the straightaway and around the curve. A song was playing that Linda had never heard before. It sounded harsher than the usual songs at the roller-skating rink. As always, she and Jill eventually drifted apart. Jill, being taller and having a faster stride on her skates, naturally pulled ahead.

Jill, with her longer legs, easily skated past Linda and disappeared into the crowd ahead. Linda felt a sense of expectation in the air as she rolled slowly along with the other skaters, making multiple laps around the rink. The music played on, and the beams of light danced, almost overwhelming her senses. Suddenly, the first few notes of a much slower song filled the air.

Linda immediately realized what had been causing her so much angst. They’d been at the rink for over an hour, and no one had yet called for a couples-only skate—but the slower song seemed like the cue for it.

She fixed her gaze straight ahead, like a horse with blinders, and coasted toward the opening in the wall that led to the lobby.

Other times, when they’d come to the skating rink, it was usually boys with zitty faces and bean-pole bodies who asked her to skate during a couples-only session. But tonight, she didn’t feel like skating with one of them.

She also knew the gorgeous boy she’d seen with his fancy skate moves—twisting and turning effortlessly across the rink—would have chosen someone prettier, or at least more athletic and able to keep up with him, than she could ever hope to be.

It seemed most of the kids had used the couples-only skate as an excuse to head to the snack bar and load up on hot dogs, sodas, or ice cream. Normally, two songs played during the couples-only session, but Linda only heard one before the deejay’s voice boomed over the speakers.

Kids, this is pathetic! There’s got to be more of you out there for a couples skate. I’ll tell you what—we’re doing a Round Robin! All the boys and girls out onto the skate floor. Find your mystery partner! Linda suddenly felt more nervous than ever. Round Robin was the skating rink management’s attempt to shake things up and add excitement to the evening.

The deejay directed the boys to form a large circle around the outer perimeter of the rink while instructing the girls to create a smaller circle inside, directly across from them. The way it worked was simple: the deejay would play a song, and the boys skated in one direction while the girls skated in the opposite. When the music stopped, they had to pair up with the person directly across from them and skate together for the remainder of the song.

Typically, the Round Robin lasted for three or four songs, ensuring that everyone skated with several different partners. For Linda, the experience was both exhilarating and mildly terrifying.

Linda followed the instructions and, unable to spot Jill anywhere, slipped into line between a couple of other girls to wait for the music to start.

When she glanced behind her, her stomach dropped—there was Paige McClanahan, flashing her a smug, self-satisfied look.

Once everyone had made it onto the rink, and the deejay seemed satisfied, he finally started the first song.

Linda immediately recognized the opening strains of a song she liked—Neil Diamond’s Sweet Caroline. As she skated, her eyes flicked to the boys gliding past in the opposite direction. She carefully scanned their faces, searching for the fancy-skating boy she’d noticed earlier. There was no chance she’d forget him.

Usually, the deejay stopped the music quickly for the first Round Robin, but this time he let it drag on, so much so that Linda felt like she’d circled the rink twice.

Then everything happened at once. She spotted the face of the gorgeous boy who had been skating so beautifully earlier. The music stopped, and just as the boy started to reach for her, Linda felt a sharp jolt just below her ribs.

The impact knocked her sideways, throwing her off balance and sending her to her knees. Outraged, she turned to see who had shoved her—and there was Paige, lunging to grab the boy Linda had been watching all evening.

But then, something amazing happened. The boy frowned at Paige, reached for Linda’s hand, and said, Are you okay? Let’s skate.

Paige grunted and skated off in a huff.

They glided across the rink for nearly half its length before Linda could bring herself to look at him, even though the deejay still hadn’t restarted the music. From the corner of her eye, she noticed that everyone else had paired off as well.

Finally, when she turned to face him, he flashed a warm smile that melted her heart. Hi. I’m Rusty. What’s your name? Linda felt weak in the knees as she looked up at him and softly said, My name is Linda. He seemed to have forgotten all about the little fracas with