Daryl dropped by the flat last night for some beer.

He messaged me the other day, asking if he could drop by The Chairless Apartment and if I'd want to have drinks with him. I said, "Sure." I don't work on Tuesday nights and drinking would be better than doing nothing. I hardly have any money until Wednesday morning, and I wouldn't say no to someone offering to bring alcohol to my apartment. Well. I wouldn't say no to very nearly anybody.

Dar arrived with two liter-bottles of Red Horse. I had enough money to buy some ice so we're good with cold beer. We'd already started when Anton came; he finally met the "Daryll" written on the blue post-it note still stuck on the bedroom door. JV woke up from comatose some time later; it was a reunion of the original three guys who occupied The Chairless Apartment.

I guessed Dar was initially hesitant to see me. The last time I saw him, I delivered his things to his parents' house. It ended up with me storming out. Was that three months ago?

But I was not angry at Dar. I couldn't stay angry with that bastard for long; and by long, I meant longer than 10 minutes. "You went here when you learned I was ill," I told him. This was sometime after we broke up, and he surprised me by going to the apartment unannounced to give me meds. "I couldn't stay angry with you after that."

So we talked and drank our beer. He recounted how I played footsies with him that first night I stayed over at his place. "Right under my grandma's nose!" he pointed out. We went well beyond footsies that night. "Well, you let me!" I countered. "You could have stopped me but you didn't."

In the end, he spent the night in the apartment; he still had work in the morning and it'll take too long for him to get home. We slept next to each other. It was like the old days, except it's not like the old days. There were times things were a bit awkward, the way old lovers could be awkward when with each other's company. And three years of being together left a lot of marks and hidden compartments in various places in one's mind. Three years that ended like that could bring nasty surprises if one wasn't careful. But we had beer, we had fun and there wasn't drama from me or him. It was a good night for both of us.

He wanted us to stay friends. I could settle for friends, I guess.