A couple of years back I (36F) casually dated a guy (36M) for a few months, with what started as more of a FWB situation but ultimately we became really good friends and took physical intimacy out of the equation. He was the one who was very insistent at the time that he wanted to stay friends regardless of whether intimacy was involved or not because he enjoyed spending the time with me so much; naturally I felt the same way. We always had so much fun and could talk about anything and everything, added bonus that we both laughed at each others jokes, no matter how awful they were.

He worked a pretty strenuous sort of schedule with his line of work so meeting up was difficult, but we'd stay in touch as much as possible, until he had to move several hours away for work. We checked in with each other for a while at first, but then drifted apart. It's been nearly 2 years since then, and this morning on a whim, I texted him to ask how he's been doing.

I didn't expect a reply to be honest. But we ended up texting back and forth for most of the day, and he asked at one point about the guy I'd been dating all that time ago, how my cat and dog are doing, and what craft projects I've been up to. He remembers all the little details, and it felt like no time has passed since we'd last talked.

It probably doesn't really need asking but maybe I'm overthrowing a little. Would anyone respond like this just to be polite when it would be just as easy to not reply? Or is there a chance this is a friendship that we could pick back up again? It just feels surreal when it's been so long since last contact and I'd love a man's perspective on it.