All Comments on 'A Duet for Three'

Nice!

Perfect! ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

One of your best stories to date. The BTB crowd may dock you a point, but it was believable and gives some hope. 4.8*

5/5

Loved it.

Great Story.

Keep it up!

Nicely done. An appropriate redemption and reconciliation. Happy Holidays.

A very sweet story. Thanks for publishing it. 5*

Great story, very heartwarming. Only nit pick is the high amount of mundane detail, but still a 5 for all that.

Great story - a nearly perfect 5* but you omitted the most critical lyrics from that song - "So now I'm waiting for the end of time ... To hurry up and arrive ... 'cause if I have to spend another minute with you I don't think I can survive! Maybe a sequel based on those lyrics? Nah!

Enjoyable read.

Traci's panties weren't soaked and the smell of her arousal wasn't permeating the hotel room? Without some dialogue between Coy and Traci I have a difficult time with that. As just some random memory thrown out at that point in the story it just seems like a bit of revisionist history to move the plot in the direction the author wanted it to go.

A bit of honest and in depth dialogue between Coy and Traci to explain her lack of arousal in the hotel room. To discuss what two years of therapy had uncovered... That might have moved this story up to 5 ⭐ for me.

It blew me away!!! 5*.. Thanks... what happened to Ryker? Maybe I missed it?

My dad had a saying, “never underestimate the power of a woman.” By the end of the story I was rooting for Traci.

Really liked the story. The abrupt changes from first person (the MC) to third person and back again were a bit jarring though.

Not a BTB because it's a Christmas story?

So what does the MC being a bitch-simp have to do with Christmas?

I looked up "Lame" a dictionary and this story appeared.

Traci is spoiled child ,and Coy is push around husband .3 stars

Worst type of RAAC , forgiving in just 3 song and she move in just after one night, you killed a good story. Sometimes a "New lifestyle" ending is far better and it was deserve here

I know this is a crapmas story he should of just told his daughter no at going to exinlaws house, not went to the musical, even after going to the karaoke bar should of walked out. Them getting back together was the worst ending.

Seriously outstanding RAAC that makes perfect sense for once.

5 stars

Nice. You brought them back together nice and easy. Not forced, not stilted. Each one maintained their personality all the way through. Well done. Thank you for this story.

Schmalzty but not bad, except for the jumps from 1st to 3rd person in the same sentence.

Damn good yarn!

🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟

Yeah. The constant first person, third person mistakes made the story hard to follow. What could have been a great story quickly became a mediocre story.

I do have a question. Why weren't these mistakes found and pointed out by the editor you lauded in the opening statement? Better luck on the next one.

Very enjoyable, and lots of good snark

Your editor should have told you that if you have to "sandwich in" 3rd person POV, then you should simply write the whole story in 3rd person.

Cheating is not just sleeping with somebody. The emotional cheating, when you start to tell stories with other person and keep it from your spouse, sometimes is as damaging as physical cheating.

Having said that, it's obvious that Traci understands it completely and blames nobody else but herself. And for 2 years, she tried to understand why she did it. So, the reconciliation feels real, and not rushed.

On the surface this was a great love story.

Well-writtrn the writer dies have a talent in writibg. I'm not a romantic guy but yes reconciliatiin is a must. Tracu did everything to convey her remorse and her love to her ex-husband. But I do get this tiny tingling in the gut that perhaps Coy got manipulated big-tine and got bulldozed. I can't the feeling that Traci might get aroused again if the right guy with a great voice sings with her and Coy happens to be out of town...

Great story and Bat Out of Hell is a great album. 5

Well done. Five stars. I usually detest happy ever after endings, but this one was letter perfect and I did not need a shot of insulin at the end. I would not change a thing.

10 Big Blazing Stars for an EPIC Story. a story that made me want to laugh and cry and then laugh and cry again. Bringing all the emotions out for a life that happens, temptations come, people fail and fall, lives are destroyed, plans change, hearts are broken, marriages destroyed, and Vows are forgotten. What an EPIC story. Thanks, Buster2U

Good story. Weird that a song about a couple that hates each other was their special song, though.

Great story well written. Thanks.

An amazing writer fab storey! ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Yor usual complex plot and deep character play but the twist this time is a Happy Holiday Ending.

Perfect, another 5.

You Sir are a pleasure to read and fast becoming one of my favorites'.

didnt need to be a btb, but if you were going to make him a cuck you should have used the cuck tag

When a reconciliation makes sense and is done right…it shines! Very well written and presented!

.

5 *****

3 stars - when writing stories about actors and cheating, the words TRUST HONESTY LOVE & ETHICS are about as fleeting as the first winter snow - because if the actor is really really good, no normal person would ever know for sure, whether they were telling truth or just acting.

So for me - the fact that she could walk away in the first place, was more than enough proof, that this was the REAL person talking and no amount of sucking up would ever impress me enough to even consider taking that lying SLUT back. So NO, the RAAC was just impossible.

Great job!! But Ryker still deserved a shot to the face or his cohones.

Great story. I’m an emotional person. Brought tears to my eyes.

this one covered all the bases,5

Nope. Not at all. Far too much pussy under the bridge.

Loved it, but like numbnutz49, the final lyrics of the song were on my mind for the whole time. Still, everyone takes from a song what they want, and you took a great story out of it. Thanks for sharing it with us!

Wow, I sure am happy I read your story, now I've got a good feeling going on hopefully for the rest of the day if not longer! 5+++++

Very sentimental, very moving, very nice.

A good "feel good" story at Christmas. Like a Hallmark movie except I don't think the scene in the hotel room with Tracy would pass muster.

Wow a really well written story. Felt the emotion throughout the story. The details help build the story.

Thanks for writing! 5⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

While from one perspective, this is a very sweet romance and redemption story, something kept feeling off. The poor MC was manipulated by everyone he knew. The Christmas part where his parents just go to his ex-in-laws and where his daughter was willing to leave him alone on Christmas was offputting.

His parents know his first wife abandoned him and his daughter, his second wife had an emotional and almost physical affair that messed him up and they didn't think to respect him enough to talk about it first? No, "Son, we've been invited and we'd really like to go but we need to know how you feel as we won't abandon you on Christmas." Or something to that effect? Instead we get:

---

"We're spending Christmas with Al and Jean," my mother said.

"You're doing what?" I asked in disbelief.

"Your hearing is perfectly good so if you're asking me to repeat what I said, it's to buy yourself time to make a smartass remark to your elderly mother. So now that I've given you all that time to think of something, hit me with it."

---

I'm happy they reconciled but the universal manipulation from everyone made it seem... wrong... somehow. "Coy, we know best, just suck it up and do what we want goddamn it! Or else we'll set you up, again, and again, until you finally cry 'uncle'."

Thanks for exposing the US's greatest songwriter to the people here.

Well that's a new one. Her marriage was saved because she has a stank ass pussy? Still, well written. 5

"Why? How?" I managed to stutter out.

That's when I noticed that the author had swapped me, as an established character, for a drooling zombie, who only needed to be railroaded through to the planned conclusion. It was a terrible feeling, knowing that in the teleplay my eyes would have glaze over, my shirt would slowly become drool-stained, and the actor's neck would be cricked from having to hold his head in that funny zombie pose.

How would the audience react to this sudden and inexplicable switch to a different genre? Would they immediately forget my established character, and only judge me by the brainless shambling of a plot puppet zombie?

Yeah, OK, Fine. He never found anyone to replace the stupid selfish cheating whore, so why not remarry her? What has he got to loose? He has nothing with a real woman, he is nothing without his ex cheating whore, so why not own his inadequacy, codependency, and self denigration? All's well that ends well, so if she can keep her legs together around other men then he will have made the right choice. Its his sword of Damocles to live under, so God help him. Many men live lives of quiet desperation. It doesn't cost me a damn thing to wish him good luck. Good luck.

A most beautiful love story for Christmas

I liked it, though I felt the reconciliation happened a little too easily. If I read this correctly, he comes to the conclusion that when she was with dickhead she didn't smell of arousal as she did singing with him, so it was just sex? That was the nit that irritated me. The other problem was Traxi didn't notice the emotional distancing she pulled with Coy and Emma, what was that about?

I am glad they reconciled but it was too quick. It needed more buildup to the karaoke scene, where after being able to be in each others company, where she opens up about why she sud what she did ( in the story she agrees to tell him what happened in therapy, but never dies). They maybe could have dated w no sex and done things with Emma to reconnect emotionally, then the karaoke blows open the gates so to speak. Getting unintentionally pregnant is not a way to reconnect either...

But it is a Christmas story. The Bonny Tyler song was also featured on a TV show as ita theme song, it was filming that show where the lead ,Jon Hexum, played around with a prop pistol and was killed when he wadding from the blank cartridges impacted his temple and killed him. Ellen Foley sung the girl part on the album,& in the first season of Night Court she played the public defender Billie.

A sweet story that was apropos for the season. I look forward to reading the rest of your work.

Outstanding. I enjoyed that very much and look forward to reading more of your work, thank you.

Great Story. Five stars!

As much as I like reconciliation endings, being manipulated like that is a dreadful thing

@servant111 and @Polpolp - Sorry, but it was not a RAAC. I'm not saying it was a good reconciliation, but it was an actual reconciliation rather than a RAAC (which is really a misnomer).

At least it wasn't as bad as a full-on "Christmas Miracle" reconciliation...

Fantastic!!!!!

Quaint, and mediocre. When an author needs to quote another author's work to convey their sentiment and emotions (the music lyrics) its always lame and crippled. Really, you can't tell Your story without leaning on another author's wit and imagination? You're just admitting that you don't have the chops to tell your own story in your own words. Its the same when an author wants to describe what their character in a story looks like by comparing their character to some other celebrity that they hope the reader is familiar with: "Greta Garbo's smile. Like what the fuck is that supposed to look like?

\

Of course we are supposed to accept the reconciliation because the asshole's penis never actually penetrated the whore' vagina. As if the physical betrayal is more important than the emotional/psychological betrayal. The cheating whore had already fucked the asshole in her mind, and was totally committed to taking his cock in her cunt, until she got caught. Oh, OK, its OK as long as the flesh barrier was not crossed. Like getting caught conspiring to murder your spouse is more forgivable than actually murdering your spouse. Shallow stupid juvenile thinking.

\

So another story where the stupid cuck lives his life under the sword of Damocles. Maybe the thread won't break. It will serve him right if it does.

"Tyler had grown by leaps and bounds over the years; from a population of 75,000 in 1990, to its current population of 110,000." — Made me laugh!

Frisco, TX went from about 6,500 people in 1990 to a current population of 228,000! More leapier and boundier!

Not often that I give 5 stars to a reconciliation story. But this one was good. Well written. And it was earned.

Distance and time. Her patience. It was obvious that she felt great pain and sought therapy. AND was sincere in finding why she had slipped so far.

I liked this.

Well done.

Good writing but the author had to ignore his own story on page 2 to make any sense to the RAAC. Why? Because we are told that Traci knew what cheating would do to her marriage but yet she was a driving force because she was really turned on and had grown (by choice) close to Rick. And then after they are caught she's all of sudden mother Theresa who dedicates her and her parents life you get Coy back... thats a psycopath in real life and a simp dream in Lit.

"...Emma who was staying overnight with a school friend whose Church of Christ parents were not going to be staying up late to celebrate the arrival of another sin-filled year..." — Hol' up!

I know quite a few of them Church of Christ parents and they do stay up late to celebrate the arrival of another sin-filled year! Many will even drink a toast to welcome the year in! The difference between them and not them? When they drink, it is in moderation, not to get buzzed or plastered. And every year is, was, and will be a sin-filled year. That's the fallen nature of this world, no mortal can change that. They just don't contribute any more sin to the world than they humanly prevent. The Church of Christ people are usually pretty understanding that they are sinners too. They just try harder not to be.

'Disney for dudes'. She threw away her real talent and became a schoolteacher with public expressions of remorse and regret. Dream on! Or, better still. get real.

And the MC was a successful service manager for a major auto franchise. I've met more than a few of those:

'There's a strange noise from the back axle.'

'The rear axle assembly needs replacing; Labor and parts $3,500."

Local, very successful, garage:

'The hoodly widget has broken. Factory approved replacement and fitting $400.'

Oh, it also became a bit of a mess when the 1st/3rd person got screwed up. Never praise your editor without reading the story carefully!

Really professional level writing. Wins the least explicit sex/most gripping plot ratio award for this year.

Long drawn out same old shit. He should have divorced both sets of parents, he evidently lost them in the divorce anyhow. No self control is no self control. No basis for trust.

I liked it, in spite of the songs.

Her parents were a bit enabling.

Page 4

Tell them he will stay for a year if no one from that family speaks to you or your daughter.

His parents really pissed me off. Fuck'em. They want to go there for Christmas they are dead to me. Another LW story about everyone manipulating the MC to push them back together. First moment he found out she was in town he should have moved to Denison.

Well written but it's HARD to write a story justifying reconciliation. Close, but no cigar.

""Where are we going?" she asked as she slid into the front seat of my pickup truck.

"My house," I growled as I jabbed the start button.

Traci nodded. She reached under her skirt and shimmied her panties down her legs and handed them to me. It was a light blue thong, and it was drenched. No, the thong in the hotel room in Milwaukee was never like this. These were slick and shiny with her wetness. I put them to my face and inhaled her scent. The smell was overpowering and it must have addled my brain, because I drove straight into a lamp post, killing both of us. The police found me hanging over the steering wheel, broken glass everywhere, and with a thong sucked up my nose.

Great story, and I gave it five. And sorry, that alternative ending just popped into my head out of nowhere. Feel free to delete it.

Great story and I gave it five.

However, I have to admit that at one point I thought of a different direction the story would go (and I cracked -

"enough semen built up to shampoo a buffalo"

Classic!

Great story with a dash of Christmas.

I'm a fan of White Christmas but didn't know about Holiday Inn. Thanks for the tip.

ending may be a little rushed BUT WHAT A GREAT STORY

If the wife cheats, reconciliations never work.

A woman has to be emotional involved with a man for it to get to the point where she's willing to get physical. To do that, she's basically moved on from her current relationship.

If a woman is capable of just jumping into bed with a hookup, it means she's fundamentally broken. Too much promiscuity has destroyed her ability to pair bond if she'll just fuck a random guy.

In either case, reconciliation is *always* a very painful mistake that the husband will end up bitterly regretting.

Loved it.

Nice job. Thoroughly enjoyed it.

I never rate five stars for a RAAC story. I did it for this story

Yet another example of how this, often obsessive, desire for RAAC causes temporary amnesia to writers. They have their characters being completely abhorrent and yet those abhorrent CONSCIOUS decisions, somehow don't define them as abhorrent people, like it usually works in a society. They are just forgotten. Then you have protagonists who are usually very vocal about their principles, which is often the driving force behind the story. And yet as we approach the ending those principles are also forgotten, inconvenient as they are. I mean when these principles are connected to something so pointlessly shallow, like a dick penetrating a vagina, they might as well not exist at all. I guess a blowbang would be fine and we'd have no story. I could only attribute this desire as some strong need for happy endings to counter bleak real life. But anyone who bothers paying attention to what was written before the RAAC, realizes those endings are anything but happy...It's like those protags are forced into some creepy, plot-armor induced bliss.

Very nice. The ending was just superb.

⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

It's worth more though.

A really good story. I have no problem with RAAC. The title was quite clever. 5*

Passes the reconcile test for me. Coy is a tough nut tho

Nicely done.

Five stars for a good story with a good ending...

Excellent. Thanks for the hard work.

One rare RAAC that appears believable and acceptable. 5* !

As my people say, a woman's pube pulls harder than a yoke of oxen. There's really no more than that in this story. Years of therapy and she still becomes a bitch in heat when she performs. Nothing has changed, what caused him to divorce her hasn't been fixed. What will happen when she goes on tour with her HS troupe?

I really did not expect them to get back together but it made perfect sense.

I liked it. Four stars.

JPB

I wish people who use the term RAAC understood what "at all costs" means. Not every reconciliation is at the expense of the wronged party. Stop using RAAC for stories in which someone cheats, deals with negative consequences, is remorseful, and approaches the wronged partner in a loving way. I personally hate RAAC stories but I do not hate "Reasonable Reconciliation" stories.

It was obvious that he was going to reconcile when he didn't immediately leave town.

Does one become a junkie for Loving Wives stories?

Did the commenters who clamour for an ever more convoluted, painful or full on sadistic BTB ending once sate themselves with a former spouse suitably chastised?

My own kink is the pain of a cheated spouse. I'm not certain yet if I need to feel deeper and deeper pain while reading, or just that some authors make you feel that sickness in the pit of your stomach worse than others. This story didn't reach that far into me and tear into my heart.

Not to say that this wasn't well written, and inventive.

You said you had employed an editor. So many stories could also benefit from someone who reads the story and has some degree of memory for what has passed before: (Page 2) "Rick had never seen anything so perfect as Traci's tits. They were not overly large, but full, with dark pink nipples standing at attention." (Yet on page1) "A word about my wife: Traci Connery (nee D'Amico) is a knockout. Tall at 5'10" slim, and blonde, with a muscular bubble butt (the results of daily visits to our condo building's workout room) and a 32E bust." Now, whilst an E cup could be just about proportional on a woman, I don't think I'd ever use the term "Not overly large" to describe them.

Sorry but I didn't really like it.

Excellent heart warming Christmas love story. 5*

Loved it, merry Christmas

I loved the use of Jim Steinman's work, one of my favourite song writers. The story worked for the best part, not too sure about pov switching. 5*

FANTASTIC story!!!

You have the touch! I love how you play with the feelings in a so realistic way!

My sincere congratulations!

Absolutely loved it

Horrible story. It's a story about manipulative unscrupulous people. A story about people not caring about the life of a child, about a parent not protecting his daughter, about grandparents not rolling out to protect their granddaughter.

It's a story about a whore who ONLY cares about herself and about two megalomaniacs who ONLY care about their daughter.

No this is horrible to such a degree i hope the author gets to live through this directly or indirectly.

Such a horrible whore would only bring terror a devastation to a family, marking the lives of children to the point of serious mental issues later in life.

It's in the extreme danger zone of the hot crazy scale. It's the type of woman that poisons her husband because she believes that will make him stay with her.

Shame on you for romanticising this kind of behaviour. May you feel the dangerous effects of such a presence in your life, either directly or as seen on your offspring and loved ones. May you never escape it and when it happens may you remember this story and think "but it's supposed to be romantic".

Great story. Not usually one for reunions, but this was awesome.

Excellent!

Not my usual fave, but that was outstanding.