I wanna stop by and play it cool

 "I hate that we missed them," Alfie was sad that he and Zoey didn't get to see Steve and Victoria when they were in town. "Why do we keep missing them?"

He and Zoey were unloading groceries and he was doing his best to keep up with the cold filtered water from the pitcher on the counter. Zoey seemed to think the least he could do was to keep it filled. She also left notes to make ice cubes.

He sighed, they needed to be upgraded as Steve and Victoria with a nice house with the perfect kitchen. He was still waiting to hear if he had passed the exam. And there was that unsettling thought of his Dad, knowing whatever he said would never bring a change to his dad's old habits. He just hoped Boone's adoptive mother didn't leave his Dad. After all, she was the glue to the family.

"Then, we'll just go see them," Zoey said Victoria wanted her to come to the farmer's market there. It was so quaint with lots of veg, jams, and homemade ice cream.

Alfie guessed it would be the four of them plus the baby. He wanted to catch up, but he felt he needed some time alone with Steve. They were old friends. Was that too much to ask for? He hoped this didn't happen with Gage, yet Alfie was certain he was as needy as he ever was to have his friends around. 

It wasn't that he was unhappy with Zoey, but it felt like she was expecting something better too. And it was an uneasy feeling. 

"It'll be great," he said with as much energy he could give. Except, he was tired. Maybe he was just expecting too much out of summer. He knew they would only spend the day. Not the weekend. 

Finally, he let slip. "I think I just annoy Steve. Maybe..maybe you should just go and I'll stay here."

"Oh, no you don't," Zoey looked back at him as if he wouldn't get off that easily. He put the chips away as well as the cold-cuts. After all, it was a very low-key summer of meals. They made do with what was in the fridge and even then it was usually a cold sandwich.

"We are going together," she took his hand. Her hands were warm and her kiss even hotter. He wanted to burst into laughter. Truly, she was in sync with him and he knew what she had in mind for the rest of the afternoon.