Dancing With A Stranger (Londyn Carter Book 1)

  Dancing With A Stranger

  By

  A.L. Martin

  Dancing With A Stranger

  by A.L. Martin

  Copyright © 2020

  All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, distributed, or transmitted in any form or by any means, including photocopying, recording, or other electronic or mechanical methods, without the prior written permission of the publisher, except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical reviews and certain other noncommercial uses permitted by copyright law. For permission requests, write to the publisher, addressed “Attention: Permissions Coordinator,” at the address below.

  Any references to historical events, real people, or real places are used fictitiously. Names, characters, and places are products of the author’s imagination.

  Cover design by LH Designs

  Acknowledgments

  I have great respect and appreciation for my editor Ashley for the endless hours she has put into editing my book. She not only edited my book but was a constant shoulder for my never ending worrying. Thank you, Ashley!

  I wouldn’t have been able to write this book without the love and support of my husband and our three kids. They kept pushing me when I wanted to give up. They believed in me more than I believed in myself most times. Thank You!

  To all my friends that have been with me on this wild ride, I appreciate each and every one of you. Thank you!

  Chapter 1

  One becomes blinded by his social status, and most of the time, people only associate with others in the same circle. If you dare go outside that circle, people question your motives and start to look at you like they don’t know you anymore. Well, I don’t know about the rest of the world, but that’s what it’s like for me in high school. I just didn’t understand how different I truly was from the rest of the kids at school.

  “So, what are you and Lucas going to do Saturday night?” Jayde asked, picking at her food.

  “I don’t know. I think he’s going to hang out with some of his friends. Why? Do you want to do something? We could go into Baltimore. I heard there is a new club that opened up for 18-20 year olds. Want to go?” I said, dipping a slice of cucumber into some ranch.

  “What are you two talking about?” Sam asked, sitting down in the chair between me and Jayde.

  “Jayde and I were talking about going to Baltimore this Saturday night to the new club that opened up. Want to go with us? You can stay the night with me. That way we don’t have to worry about a curfew.”

  “Well, you know what that means? Shopping!” Sam smiled. “When do you both want to go?”

  We sat there for the next few minutes, trying to decide when to go shopping before Saturday. Out of the three of us, I was a little better at finding exactly what I wanted in the stores. Jayde was probably the worst, with Sam not far behind her. They have been my best friends since middle school, but going shopping with them sometimes was sheer torture. I even went as far as to lie about having to be home at a certain time so they would have to definitely decide on the clothes they were buying.

  “What are you three talking about?” Lucas asked, wrapping his arms around me.

  “Are we doing anything this Saturday?” I leaned into his shoulder.

  “Londyn, remember, I’m hanging out with Blake and a few other friends.”

  “I know. I was just making sure.” I smiled.

  Lucas flashed me one of his gorgeous smiles that made the other girls at school jealous. We had been together on and off throughout our four years in high school. I broke up with him lots of times, but it would never last longer than a couple months.

  He was crazy attractive, with the looks and body of a model. He had blue eyes, and his blonde hair was short on the sides and slightly messed on the top. He was lean, but muscular from lifting weights during the football season.

  After the last bell of the day, I walked out the side doors to find Julie already outside, waiting for me by my car. She was talking and laughing with a couple of her friends. The only time her friends hung out by my car was when they needed a ride home, which was typical most days. Our friends had lived within a five-mile radius of us our whole lives. We all went to the same private high school with other kids like us, whose parents were rich and successful. That meant all of our parents knew one another in one way or another, either through their businesses or social circles.

  I pulled into our long driveway. I knew better than to park my car in front of the house in the circle. That place was reserved for our dad’s car, and no one else was allowed to park there. He always ran our house like a business. I guess that is why Mom left him. She couldn’t handle his control-freak ways anymore. She got a nice amount of money in the divorce settlement, but only on one condition. They shared custody of us.

  I unlocked the French style doors to the house, while Jules messed with her phone. Jules ran up the circular staircase to her room, where she would stay until dinner. Tonight was my night to cook, since Valerie wasn’t able to be here today. Valerie was our housekeeper, who also cooked for us before she would go home for the night. Dad hired her a few months after the divorce because he usually didn’t get home until late at night. Luckily, Mom had taught me how to cook. She knew something like this would happen because dad never stepped foot in the kitchen. I have always been one to pick up on things quicker than others.

  ****

  Saturday morning came faster than I could’ve hoped for. I woke up to the smell of Valerie’s white chocolate raspberry muffins. At first, I was a bit confused, because she was never here on the weekends. I was the one that cooked when she wasn’t here. I flipped the covers off, and slowly placed my feet down on my plush light blue area rug. I leaned over, grabbing my phone off my nightstand to see if there were any messages from Lucas since I wouldn’t be seeing him until tomorrow afternoon. Part of me felt guilty for going to the dance club without him, even though he knew I was going to be with Jayde and Sam.

  Hey Beautiful! Have fun tonight with your friends and I will see you tomorrow. Love you!

  All that did was intensify my guilt even more. I slipped on a pair of my favorite fuzzy socks that had pink flamingos on them. I picked up my phone again, and headed downstairs to see if by some chance Valerie was there, or if I was just imagining that I smelled her muffins.

  “Good morning, Londyn,” Valerie said, pulling another pan of muffins out of the oven.

  “Morning, Valerie. Today is Saturday, right?” I asked looking around the kitchen puzzled.

  She laughed, placing the muffin pan down on a cooling rack. “Yes. Your dad told me Jayde and Sam were spending the night, and I thought I would come over and make muffins for tomorrow. Do you want one this morning?”

  “Valerie, you are the best! You know I can’t turn down one of your muffins.” I smiled, walking around the island to get a little plate out of the cabinet.

  “I am going to fix something for Julie to warm up if she is here later. I know she panics if you aren’t here to cook. I need to get her in here and teach her how to cook a few simple things,” Valerie said, putting a muffin on a plate for me.

  I held the plate up to my nose, inhaling the aroma of white chocolate and raspberry. I pinched a piece off the top, popping it in my mouth. “OMG! Valerie, your muffins are the absolute best! One day, can you come over during the weekend and show me how to make these?”

  “I’d love to.” She smiled. “So, what are you and your friends going to do tonight? Any big plans?”

  “We are going to go to that new night club for 18-20 year olds tonight. Sam is spending the night, so we don’t have to worry abo
ut her curfew. Since Sam is staying the night, I figured it would just be easier to have both of them stay with me. Dad doesn’t care what time I come home most of the time. He probably won’t even be here anyway.”

  “He loves you, Londyn.”

  “He’s got a funny way of showing it. Thanks for making something for Jules to eat later if she’s here. She might go over to a friend’s house tonight.”

  “What about me?” Jules yawned, walking into the kitchen. Her hair was up in a ponytail, and she was wearing a long-sleeved graphic tee and joggers. “Oh! Muffins!” She grabbed one off the tray.

  “Valerie was saying she was going to make you something to warm up later, but I told her you might be going over to a friend’s house tonight.” I said, then turned back to Valerie. “Thanks, Valerie. I meant what I said earlier. You are the best,” I smiled, finishing up my muffin.

  “You’re welcome. You girls never give me any problems.”

  I washed my plate in the sink so Valerie could finish what she was doing because I knew she wanted to leave as soon as she was done putting the muffins in a container. I told her to have a safe trip home, and I would see her Monday morning before school. She told me to have fun with my friends and to be careful in Baltimore that late at night. I went to turn back around to clean up the sink from me washing my plate, when out of nowhere sadness swept over me. It came out of nowhere and I didn’t know why I should be feeling so sad. Before I could even turn around the tears were beginning to trickle down my cheeks. I grabbed a paper towel to dab my face, and that is when I caught Valerie wiping under eyes with a tissue. She quickly put her tissue away when she noticed I was facing her. Again, she told me to have fun and that she would see me Monday morning.

  I went upstairs to my room to text Lucas, Jayde, and Sam. I sat on my bed for a few minutes clutching my phone, thinking about what had just happened down in the kitchen. Could I have been feeling Valerie’s sadness? I noticed once she had left, the sadness had disappeared as fast as it showed up.

  I told Lucas to have fun hanging out with Blake and their other friends. He told me that he missed me, and he couldn’t wait to see me tomorrow. I texted Jayde to see what time she was going to be here and if I needed to go pick up Sam. She texted back right away, saying she would be here around three o’clock and that she would pick up Sam on her way here. I got my outfit out of the closet and hung it up by itself on the back of my door. Luckily, I already had nude high heels to wear with it because I forgot to get shoes yesterday at the mall. Now, I just had to decide on how to wear my hair. A lot of people have always commented on how pretty my dark red hair was down. I might curl it and pray the weight of my hair didn’t weigh the curls down before we got The Loft.

  The doorbell rang right at three o’clock, which told me Jayde and Sam were here. I ran down the stairs, sliding halfway to the front door on the slick marble tiled floor. I could see Jayde and Sam laughing at me through the glass doors. It’s not like they never slid across the marble tile floor before. The minute I opened the door, they were hit with the faint lingering smell of Valerie’s muffins.

  “Where are they?” Sam asked, dropping her stuff right inside the door.

  “Where are what?” I laughed.

  “The muffins, you bitch!”

  “Damn, Sam. They are in the kitchen. Where else would they be?” Jayde laughed, carrying her stuff up the stairs to my room. “Sam, I’m not carrying your stuff up the stairs.”

  “I didn’t ask you too. I just want a muffin,” she said, following me into the kitchen.

  “Valerie made plenty for the rest of the day and tomorrow morning. She knew you both were coming over to stay the night tonight.” I handed Sam a plate and asked if she wanted anything to drink too.

  “So when do you want to start getting ready and leave for Baltimore? I can’t wait. We are going to have so much fun. Thanks for letting me stay the night tonight.”

  “Anytime Sam. Your parents need to ease up on the curfew a little bit. I mean we are going away to college in the fall. Knowing them, they will be calling at 11 p.m. to make sure you are in your dorm.” I rolled my eyes.

  “I really like the outfit you picked out yesterday, Londyn. The top is going to look amazing with your hair down. You are wearing your hair down, right?” Jayde asked, reaching for a muffin.

  “I had planned on it. I was going to curl it, then spray the hell out of the curls in hopes they won’t fall too bad before we get to The Loft tonight. What time should we get there? I was thinking around nine o’clock, to be sure we can get in there before it gets too crowded. Jayde, do you care to drive since you go to Baltimore more than I do?”

  “I was planning on driving. With traffic we should leave around eight, just in case traffic gets backed up or something. I can’t wait!”

  “What are you girls going to do tonight?” Dad asked, walking into the kitchen.

  “We are going to head to Baltimore tonight to the new night club,” I said, peeking over my shoulder at him.

  “Londyn, do you think that is wise? You don’t want anything to mess up your chances of being accepted into college.”

  “Dad, I’m not going to do anything stupid. We are going out dancing for a little bit. How is that going to mess up my chances for college?”

  “You know what I mean.” His jaw clenched as he pressed his lips together.

  I wasn’t in the mood to listen to one of his life lectures about how I had to walk a fine line in order to get into college. I looked at Jayde and Sam, motioning their eyes in the direction of the stairs.

  Jayde looked at me and got up off the stool. “Thank you for letting us stay the night tonight, Mr. Carter, but we should probably start getting ready.”

  “Anytime, Jayde. You and Sam are always welcome over here. I hope you are driving to Baltimore tonight. Londyn hasn’t driven around the city much.”

  “Yes. She even asked me if I could drive. Well, I need to get ready. Talk to you later, Mr. Carter.”

  Sam was right on her heels, and I followed close behind them. They were on their way to the stairs when Dad shot me a dirty look. I know as ass chewing was going to happen in the next few days. He never yelled at me when my friends were around, the one thing I was grateful for.

  I closed my bedroom door behind me so he would think we were getting ready. Sam was on my bed, while Jayde was sitting in my chair with her back against one arm and her legs dangling over the other one.

  We sat up there for a little bit talking about my dad and his controlling behavior towards me lately. Especially, how I always had to watch what I did and not blow my chances getting into college. He even went as far as talking about me marrying Lucas someday. I loved Lucas, but I didn’t know if he was the one I wanted to marry. And, Dad had no right trying to pressure me into saying I wanted to marry Lucas.

  We decided to put our makeup on, then curl our hair before changing our clothes. I gave them each a button down shirt to put on before they started to fix their hair. I didn’t want them to mess it up after taking all that time to fix it. It was amazing that we were actually on schedule to leave at eight for Baltimore. I went to the bathroom to fix my hair because of all the hair spray I was going to have to spray on it. Sam and Jayde stayed in my room to get ready, since they didn’t need any hairspray. Jayde’s long dark brown hair was straight, while Sam’s was dark blonde was naturally curly. Mine needed a little more help than either of theirs. I curled the ends of my hair, hoping the curls would keep better. I went ahead and changed into my new pair of ripped jeans, and loose fitting cream colored halter top with silver beads around the neck.

  “Wow, you both look great!” I said, walking out of my bathroom into my room. Jayde was wearing a black one-piece jumpsuit with ruffles on one shoulder. Sam had on ripped jeans and a white, off-the-shoulder lace top with long flowy sleeves.

  “Look at you! That top looks so good with your hair down. If Lucas saw you right now, I think he’d be going with you to the club.” Jayde
smiled. “Are you ready to go? It’s a little after eight, and we haven’t left yet.” She grabbed her wristlet off my vanity.

  We took a few selfies on the stairs before we left for Baltimore. I texted Lucas real quick, sending him a picture of me. He texted me back, telling me how beautiful I looked and to have fun tonight. I guess I was hoping he would say they would meet us there later and we could dance the night away. I couldn’t complain. He spent a lot of time with me and didn’t get to see her friends much.

  We made our way down the rest of the stairs and I asked Sam if she saw Dad anywhere close. I peeked my head into the kitchen, and then went down the hall towards his office. “Wow, he left without saying anything,” I sighed, walking back to Jayde and Sam.

  “He’s not here? Wow…What kind of dad leaves, knowing his daughter is getting ready to leave and not say anything to her?” Sam questioned.

  “An asshole one,” Jayde said, checking her makeup in the round, black mirror above the black table. On each side of the table were matching black lamps with white shades trimmed in black. “Are you okay?” Jayde asked, looking at me in the mirror.

  “Yeah, I don’t know why I should be upset. He does this all the time.”

  “Londyn, I’m sorry he’s like that to you. Dictates to you and doesn’t even say goodbye or anything. We are going to have a great time,” Sam hugged me. “Oh, I’m sorry, I don’t want to mess up your hair.”

  We made decent time to Baltimore, even with heavy traffic the closer we got to the city. We passed Inner Harbor, which looked beautiful with the way the lights glinted off the water. I wished we had time to go down there and walk around during this warm spring evening. This was going to be our last summer together, hanging out at each other’s houses. Things will never be the same once we all go off to college. I had no idea how drastic things were about to change.

  We found a place to park a couple of blocks away from the club, which is pretty good for Baltimore on a Saturday night. We put what we absolutely needed in our wristlets, then locked our regular purses in the trunk of the car. We took another selfie before we started our walk to the club.