Page 1 of The Affair
Prologue
It was so freaking hot outside.
There was no other way around it. It was a muggy, sweltering, plain old miserable day, and as much as I wanted to stay inside and hunker down with a good book in front of the air conditioner, I had other plans for today.
Big plans.
Today, on this boring street, in the middle of nowhere, North Carolina, something amazing was happening.
Today, we were getting new neighbors.
And in a town like Pine Hurst, there was nothing more exciting than new people. As soon as the place down the street had sold, gossip had been spreading like wildfire.
Who are they?
What are they like?
They aren’t … city folk, are they?
A few of us had gathered in a large huddle, our bikes making a circle in the cul-de-sac as we waited for any sign of the newbies’ impending arrival up the street.
I didn’t know how Macy had managed to find out the exact date they were coming, but that morning, she’d shown up at my house bright and early, ready for a stakeout, and I was more than happy to oblige.
Not that she’d given me much of a choice.
“I heard they have a son,” I said, hoping to sound cool in front of the two girls. I knew the only reason they were here was because I happened to be the only person they knew who lived on this street.
Well, that, and the rumor I’d just mentioned about the son.
“I heard they have two,” Sarah added, effortlessly flipping her hair back. It fell in delicate ringlets down her back, somehow defying Mother Nature entirely, while mine seemed to be doubling in size by the minute.
Thank you, humidity.
“Two?” Macy nearly squealed. “I wonder how old they are. Knowing our luck, they’ll be in high school.”
“Or worse, they’ll be my brother’s age,” Sarah added, making her adoring best friend laugh.
I joined in, not wanting to be left out, but honestly, I couldn’t find anything wrong with the idea of the newcomers being young. I’d just gotten my CPR certification, and I was trying to line up some babysitting gigs. Having two extra kids on the street would actually be kind of awesome.
“Oh my gosh! I see a car!” Macy announced, instantly sitting up straighter on her bike.
“Play it cool. Don’t look over there,” Sarah hissed.
“But how are we supposed to see anything?” I stated the obvious, earning me an evil glare from the other two.
“You can look, but just don’t make it obvious. Duh,” she advised me.
“Oh. Okay,” I replied, not liking this stealthy stuff at all, but happy to be out of the house all the same. It had been a long, lonely summer with no one to entertain me but my nerdy younger brother.
“I see them!” Macy announced. “They’re cute. And I think they might be our age!”
Both girls squealed.
“They heard us!” Sarah giggled. “Oh my God, how embarrassing.”
I looked up the road, and sure enough, two boys were looking down the street at our little gathering. I had to squint to get a good look. Both had dark hair and were tall and lanky. For some reason, I felt my heart flutter inside my chest at the sight of one of them, and I immediately looked away.
“Are you okay, Elle?” Macy asked to my surprise.
