Old Friends and Old Flames — a dangerous combination?

Photo by Clay Banks on Unsplash

It’s with a mix of curiosity, excitement, and dread that I go into next weekend. My wife and I are hosting a reunion for eight of us who were extremely close 30 years ago, but have seen little of each other since.

We were all buddies in grad school, and for a couple of years, we did almost everything together. Well, everything but one thing — sex.

Despite a lot of chemistry and crushes, aside from my wife and me, none of us ended up in romantic or sexual relationships with each other.

Now that a lifetime has passed, and they’ve all gone on to have the lives and relationships that they’ve had, we’re wondering if any of the old sparks will fly?

Let me break down the possible romantic entanglements.

The one that intrigues me most. My two old roommates — a guy and a girl — were absolute best friends, and he had a very clear crush on her. I would argue that, despite him marrying another woman, our roommate was the one true love of his life.

Now, 30 years on, they are both married, but to people who neither is nearly as compatible with as they are with each other.

For him — my male roommate — in particular, he is very unhappy in his relationship (his wife drinks way too much and is, at the best times…