Mason Jar Drinks

"Come on, this might be the last time we go out while you're still a Long Island girl!" Anna shrieked at me as I tossed the uncomfortable wedges aside that she wanted me to wear.

I rolled my eyes at her. "So shouldn't I be comfortable on my 'last night?'" I put those last two words in air quotes because I really didn't see this as any sort of bon voyage outing. That would be the Fourth of July, right? We weren't even through June at this point!

"Yeah, the flat sandals look fine," Jessica said as she picked a piece of mint out of her mojito. Jessica, Anna, and Darlene had come over around five to make dinner and drinks before we headed to a strip of bars more East on the island.

"I guess you don't have anyone to impress, right?" Anna said, giggling to herself.

"I can't believe Scott can't come out with us," Darlene pouted. "I think we're more entertaining than the Mets, anyway."

I laughed while pulling a clothes hanger out of my closet. "I definitely think we are," I commented.

Things were pleasant among us all. I thought things would at least be awkward between Jessica and I, but she was actually being nicer than usual. I'm not complaining, but it was odd.

After we hung out in my room for a while, where I decided on wearing an aztec patterned tank top, denim shorts, and the flat sandals, we began gathering our things so we could head out. I made sure to snap a selfie of the four of us to add to my Snapchat story before piling into Darlene's car. She was on antibiotics, so she couldn't drink anyway. Perfect designated driver for us!

We blasted 90s Pandora on the drive over and I could feel the liquor from earlier really hitting me. I was having such a good time that I began wondering if I could convince all three of them to follow me to California.

Once we were about five minutes away, I checked my phone and had two text messages. One was from Scott, letting me know that he missed me and bought me a present from Citi Field. He's the best. The other was from Moose. I slightly cringed when I saw he was texting me, while being somewhat excited since I haven't really spoken to him too much over the past few weeks.

"Hey! You're going to be in Patchogue? I'm headed there with some of Beth's friends." For about two seconds, I was confused on how he knew where we were going before quickly realizing that I wrote it on my Snapchat story. I was relieved to know he wasn't following us in his car.

"Hey! Yeah, we're headed there. Let me know what bar you end up at!"

We parked and headed into this bar that had a live band playing music. We all ordered drinks and the bartender served them to us in small mason jars. "This place couldn't be more fucking trendy if they tried," Darlene laughed before taking a sip of her Long Island Iced Tea.

"Right?" I agreed. "Anna, this was a good find." Anna had been the one to suggest this place after meeting a guy on line here for a drink.

"Oh, you know," she began as she playfully whipped her hair behind her neck. "I go on all these dates just so we know the happening places."

We were all laughing and even began dancing to the live music for a little while. I just happened to peer behind me and a tall guy caught my attention. It was Moose.

I turned and began walking over to him. "Hey, stranger!" I greeted him as I leaned up on my tippy toes to give him a hug.

"Yeah, I'm good. How have you been?"

It was pretty loud so I just kind of nodded. It dawned on me that I hadn't told Moose about my move. I hadn't told many people outside of my family, Scott, and my closest girl friends. I waved him over to where the rest of my friends were and decided to let my future self worry about when to drop the news.

Beth and her friends must've went to the bar or something, but they met us a few minutes later. They said they wanted to head to a bar a few doors down so we all finished our drinks and followed. The weather that night was perfect; not humid at all. I wondered how it'd compare to the weather in Santa Monica.

Our next spot was a German bar with a bunch of different beers that I didn't recognize, but I picked one and went with it.

I went to the bathroom and when I came back, I noticed Anna, Darlene, and Jessica talking to a big group of guys. They were all pretty hot, but I didn't feel a single ping of jealousy. With past boyfriends, I would sometimes go out, watch my single friends meet guys, and feel slightly envious. However, I didn't feel that at all. I was happy for them, but I didn't want to be them. Not even a little.

I decided to go outside to get some air and quickly call Scott. I wasn't sure if the game was over yet, but it had to be close. When I walked outside, though, Moose was sitting there by himself.

"Yo, where's Beth?"

"Huh?" Moose asked as he looked down at me with a confused look. "Oh, she's in there with her friends. I just wanted some air." I slowly nodded. "So, what have you been up to?"

I don't know if it was the alcohol or if I just felt the need to be completely honest, but I decided to just flat out tell Moose. After all, he was one of my closest friends, at least at some point.

"I'm moving to Santa Monica," I quickly blurted out.