A few weeks ago, I was invited to a party by one of my old friends. Since we had all became

adults with busy lives, we barely got together anymore. It had been at least two years since

all of our high school group had been in one spot at the same time. The most while off

of the group, Greg, had a place on the beach. It was a pretty decent sized place, and I

showed it to think about how much he paid for it. But it was kind of him to offer it

up for the weekend. None of us could pass up the chance to relax and party. By the time

I got to his place, it was packed. Most people had brought a plus one or a plus two. There

was a lot of unfamiliar faces, but I quickly was introduced and started to get along with

my old friend's new partners. Mostly everyone was drinking and music was playing, but it

wasn't like a college party or out of control riot. That disappointed one person, Steven.

We all liked Steven in our own way, but everyone could only deal with him for so long. I

arrived late to Greg's place, and by the time I arrived, Steven was already drunk. He

was badgering the other guests in ways only he could. So Greg, very kindly asked Steven

to go for a walk on the beach and see if he could find any cool shells. I only saw Steven

for a few minutes before he was off on his treasure hunt. Catching up with everyone else

was a good time. I listened mostly, because since college, I didn't really have much

going on. I hadn't made any effort in dating and just started to work most of the time

to pay off my student loans, but my old friends enjoyed having someone to talk to about

their new adult lives and appreciated me just listening. As time ticked by, Greg got

a little bit worried. He was too quiet. He did want to break from Steven, but he had

been gone for too long. The sun was going to set, and he was worried he might have passed

out on the beach, or was harassing someone else. Because I had spent the least time with

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