It's like this dude. The earth attracts the moon, but also the moon attracts the earth. The moon's attraction causes some water to be pulled towards it - so more mass is on one side of earth. But the earth is also spinning so that extra mass doesn't stay centered between the earth and the moon. Instead, the extra mass gets a little ahead of the moon's orbit and the gravity from that mass helps the moon orbit a little faster. It's this slight speed boost that is allowing the moon to slowly drift a little further away each year.
moon orbit a little faster. It's this slight speed boost that is allowing the moon to slowly drift a little further away each year.