Just for the Summer

There's a strange kind of self-fulfilling prophecy many of us carry into our relationships. We meet someone wonderful, things feel effortless, and then a nagging thought creeps in: 'This is too good to be true.' We start looking for the catch, the inevitable flaw that will bring it all crashing down. It’s like we're all quietly participating in a superstition we invented ourselves, convinced that our romantic history is a curse—a pattern doomed to repeat. We start to believe that every new connection is destined to end the same way the last one did, and in doing so, we might just be the ones holding the pin, waiting for the balloon to pop.

This very idea of a romantic curse is a real-world phenomenon that fascinated author Abby Jimenez. Known for her ability to blend humor, heartache, and hope, Jimenez noticed a recurring theme in conversations and online forums: people genuinely believed they were cursed in love. This sparked the idea for a story that took this superstition literally. Drawing from her background as an award-winning baker—a profession that relies on precision, chemistry, and a little bit of magic—Jimenez decided to explore what would happen if two people, both convinced they were romantic poison, tried to use their 'curse' to cancel each other out. The result is a novel that playfully examines the stories we tell ourselves about love and whether we have the power to write a different ending.

Module 1: The Modern Meet-Cute and the Curse

Let's start with a bizarre premise. A man named Justin posts on Reddit. He claims he's a "good luck charm." Every woman he seriously dates finds her soulmate immediately after they break up. Across the country, a travel nurse named Emma reads this. She has the exact same "curse." This shared, quirky problem becomes the catalyst for their connection. This brings us to our first insight.

Modern connections are often sparked by digital humor and shared quirks. Emma and Justin don't meet at a coffee shop. They connect through a Reddit thread. Their first interactions are playful DMs. They joke about his ridiculously ugly rescue dog. They laugh about her collection of murdered houseplants. This lighthearted banter builds immediate rapport. It bypasses the awkwardness of traditional first dates. It shows that in our digital age, a shared sense of humor and a weirdly specific problem can create a powerful foundation for intimacy. They decide to try a wild experiment. They will date each other for the summer. Then they'll break up. The theory? Their curses will cancel each other out, freeing them to find their real soulmates.

But there's a deeper truth here. We vet potential partners through indirect digital and social cues. Before Emma even agrees to talk more, her friend Maddy conducts a full-scale online investigation. She uses a reverse image search on Justin's photo. She finds his Instagram, his LinkedIn, even a family obituary. Maddy is performing a "vibe check" for safety. She argues that women often have to do this to protect themselves. This sleuthing reveals crucial details. Justin has a bed frame, not just a mattress on the floor. That's a green flag for maturity. His rescue dog looks relaxed and happy in photos. That suggests Justin is a kind, caring person. These small, indirect clues build a profile of his character long before he and Emma ever meet in person.

So, the plan is set. Emma decides to take a nursing assignment in Minnesota for the summer. She'll surprise Justin. They will execute their curse-breaking experiment. This leads to the next idea. A relationship's initial framework can be both pragmatic and playful. Justin sends a humorous SurveyMonkey questionnaire titled "Your Date With Justin." It asks her to choose the "fanciness level" of their date, with options like "Victorian greeting" or "James Bond movie." He follows up with a formal Evite. This effort shows he's invested and thoughtful, even within their strange, temporary arrangement. It transforms a cynical experiment into something exciting and special. The plan is simple: four dates, one kiss, and a breakup. But from the start, their genuine connection threatens to derail this purely transactional plan.

This is the setup. Two people with a shared curse, a ridiculous plan, and an undeniable spark. But as they quickly learn, real life is far more complicated than a four-date experiment.

Now, let's explore what happens when this playful plan collides with reality.