The Longest Third Date

[LJCC]

After nearly two years of drafting, stalling, revising, and taking more breaks than I care to admit, I’ve finally reached the quiet triumph of finishing this story.

It wasn’t a straight line—more like a long, looping detour through countless edits and rewrites, punctuated by moments when I simply couldn’t go on until the story itself was ready to move.

I’m the kind of writer who can’t begin another project until the current one has released its grip on me, and f*cking finally, this one has.

With the begrudging help of my beta readers—unpaid friends and family I shamelessly coerced into early readership—I began to see the story take on a sharper shape.

Their feedback confirmed what I had already suspected: the latter half is where the writing grows up.

The tone darkens, and the themes deepen.

What starts as something soft-edged and romantic shifts into a more grounded exploration of relationships, selfhood, trust, and the anxious questions that clung to all of us during the COVID lockdowns.

What comes after this?

What happens to me?

What happens to us?

These weren’t questions I had asked in my youth; they’re questions that arrive in your 30s or 40s, demanding to know whether love is enough, whether you're enough, or whether love requires you to reshape yourself.

I like to think that Klebber and Dennis changed during COVID, just as I did.

My writing certainly did.

The first half of Part 1, written with a deliberately soppy, romantic lilt, served as the meet-cute the story needed—sweet, innocent, and brimming with promise.

But like any relationship that outgrows its early spark, the story outgrew that tone.

The characters evolved, and so did I.

If the beginning of this book offers hope, the latter half asks what it costs to hold onto it.

And in that evolution—mine as much as theirs—the story finally found its voice.

So for those curious to read about Klebber and Dennis's story, I hope it reflects your story, a story, perhaps, born of love.

And just for a heads up, this isn't my story.

It's theirs.

 

 

 

 

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Title:

The Longest Third Date

Genre:

Romantic Comedy-Drama

Setting:

New York, 2020 and Present Time

Word Count:

Part 1 - 145k+ words.

Part 2 - 155k+ words.

Summary: 

March 2020: 27-year-old Klebber Toledo and 32-year-old Dennis Ellison have gone on two good, if uneventful, dates after matching on Tinge.

Looking to shake things up for the third time, they spontaneously agreed to fly to Costa Rica—with COVID lockdowns looming. What's the worst that could happen?

Stranded together in a tropical paradise with no idea how they'll get home, the two unwittingly become players in a social experiment that will put their compatibility to the ultimate test.

Did Klebber and Dennis decide to YOLO at the worst time possible?

Or will their extended time together be just what they need to finally take a chance on love?

 

 

 

[Cane23]

Is it too much to ask - is there going to be HEA? 😇

By the way, my first impression of the story is this - if the dawn is any indication of how the day will go, then it’s going to be one hell of a great day. 🌞

[LJCC]

16 hours ago, Cane23 said:

Is it too much to ask - is there going to be HEA? 😇

 

I’ve realized there’s one question readers always circle back to: Do these characters truly deserve a happily ever after?

The story is built around that idea.

Each character is fighting for their own version of happiness, and the journey is really about how they get there—and what they have to give up and lose along the way.

Klebber has his own struggles (HALLOOOOTTT of struggles), which will surface a little later in the story. It takes him time to break out of the mindset he’s trapped in.

And Dennis, on the other hand, needs patience, kindness, and a figurative shovel to pull Klebber out while dealing with his own problems. Dennis's past gives readers a clearer picture of why he behaves the way he does.

So when you reach the end, and yes, there will be a happily ever after, I’d like you to pause and ask yourself: Do these two really deserve it?

That’s a question only you—as the reader—can answer.

 

16 hours ago, Cane23 said:

By the way, my first impression of the story is this - if the dawn is any indication of how the day will go, then it’s going to be one hell of a great day. 🌞

Aww. Thanks. 🙂

OK. No more HEA.

One of them will die.

No, I'm kidding. 😂