Can you ever be friends with your ex? Affair-turned-ex had asked me once. He was the big, protective one who never left a chance to scorn the male friends I had. I liked that about him though. Because I would laugh at the way he would cringe with jealousy at the mention of names. Being jealous comes so naturally for the one you love, I thought. "Tell him you don't want to talk to him," he would cry hoarse when the phone did ring from an ex. The fact is, I was friends with an ex and he had problems with it. I didn't, for reasons simple. We had parted on mutual grounds and chose to remain friends. Maybe we were just affectionate for the period we were together. No torrid affair and no bitterness there! I quiz my friends. One says, you can never be friends with your ex because the attraction never dies. "If you've had a very passionate relationship, then I think it'll be very difficult," she adds. Maybe, because after a point you are bound to get that