Sunday

Week 1

Dane spent most Sunday afternoons with a collection of friends he made in college. A handful of core people never changed but there was a constant stream of tag-alongs flowing in and out of their orbit. One particular Sunday, several of them met up in a hobby shop that his friend Griff managed. 

Dane stood out as pretty straight-laced among his more eccentric friends. Despite being fairly shy, he earned his place in the loyal tight knit group with a mellow presence that put people at ease without him even saying much. Nearly nothing about his appearance or demeanor was for attention. His hair was the least ordinary thing about him, falling in dark waves that grazed his shoulders. Even that he kept in a low bun to maintain a low profile. 

His friend Griff was at the other end of the spectrum. He was unapologetically alternative. The same was usually true about the friends and dates he brought around, including his newest associate Natalie. Griff wasn’t discrete about the fact that he met people through sex clubs and kink events. Dane assumed this was the case with Natalie who had joined Griff for the last several weekends. Dane found her charming but intense at times. He felt more comfortable admiring assertive women at a distance.

“Where’s your date?” Dane asked Griff. 

“Who?” Griff puzzled with a frown. “Oh Natalie! She’s just a friend. We would never work. We’re way too similar,” he clarified with a chuckle and a slow shake of his head.

“My bad.”

“No worries. She’s downstairs setting up for ping pong. She’s really good, maybe even better than you.” 

“We’ll see,” Dane said with a shrug.

Shortly later, the small crowd went wild as Natalie shouted, “Undefeated!” in triumph over Griff. “Who’s next?” Everyone turned their attention to Dane, the most gifted player among them.

“Finally, some actual competition,” she relished as he assumed position. Dane was surprised to have earned a reputation. 

“Let’s make this interesting,” Griff suggested.

“What were you thinking?” Dane asked, reaching for his wallet.

“The winner gets to go through the loser’s phone,” Griff offered. Natalie shrugged and slid her phone across the table to Griff.

“I have nothing to hide, not from you anyway,” she remarked with a wink at Dane. “No posting or sending anything!” she stipulated.

“Deal,” Dane agreed. While he could be a pretty closed book, he didn’t hesitate to hand over his phone. There was nothing of interest on it. Despite being single and living alone, out of habit and caution, he did all his spicy browsing in private mode. He certainly didn’t have anyone to take dirty pics for.

After an intense match, Dane graciously accepted defeat while Natalie celebrated boisterously. “Time to pay up. Unlock it.” she reminded him, holding out his phone impatiently.

“Right,” he recalled. “I hope you like old cars and financial advice.” The instant his home screen appeared, she snatched his phone away and dashed up the stairs giggling mischievously. 

Shortly later, she materialized behind him and dropped his phone in his lap with a thud. “Here you go. Congrats on being boring,” she teased before vanishing into another conversation. He rolled his eyes and resumed playing cards.

It wasn’t until his walk home that a sudden realization stopped him dead. There wouldn’t be any erotic content in his history, but the tabs from last night might have still been open. In a panic, he pulled up his browser and found no open tabs. Had he cleared them? Or had she? Had she seen the strange stories and videos of men getting shaved that turned him on for reasons that defy explanation? Surely she would have made a comment. He pushed the thought out of his head and tried to relax. 

Week 2

The following weekend Dane’s friends began to disperse after an unremarkable brunch. Natalie caught up to Dane on his way out the door, startling him.

“I have an errand I could use your help with. Walk with me?” she asked, forgetting to make it a question until the last second.

“What errand?”

“Does it matter?”

“Well what do you need me for?” Dane inquired. Natalie rolled her eyes and sighed.

“Just come on.”

“Actually I have to-” he began to object.

“No you don’t. Let’s go,” she announced, leading him by the arm down the street.

She brought him to a nearby coffee shop. In line, she peppered him with innocuous questions. He did his best to politely indulge and reciprocate her unexpected curiosity. At last, she bought two iced coffees, handed him one, and marched out the door. He struggled to keep up as she moved with purpose down the sidewalk. 

“Was that the errand? Buying coffee?” he asked short of breath. 

“Damn, you’re dense.”

“What?”

“Nothing, just sit down,” she instructed, leading him to a bench. He obliged, utterly confused. After enjoying her coffee for a long silence, she finally asked, “What do you think of that?” gesturing across the street with her straw. Dane turned his head and found someone walking a dog.

“Cute dog…” he mused hesitantly.

“No, not the dog. Behind it,” she corrected with an attitude.

“What? The building?”

“The barber shop,” she answered as if it were obvious. 

“What about it?” he responded with forced nonchalance as his mouth went dry.

“You tell me,” she implored with a smirk. 

“Looks pretty normal.”

“Yeah well, how would you like to walk in there right now and get your head shaved while I watch?” she suggested coolly. 

“Oh my fucking god,” he exclaimed as he buried his face in his hands. “You saw that,” his muffled voice lamented. She casually sipped her drink.

“Yeah, I did.” 

“Have you told anyone?” he demanded desperately.

“No.”

“Good because that… that was nothing. Please don’t tell anyone. It’s very… private,” he sputtered. 

“Which is it, nothing or private? It can’t be both,” she interrogated.

“Nothing! I’m serious. Just don’t tell anyone. Not even Griff,” he insisted.

“Relax, I’m not planning to,” she assuaged.

“Thank you.”

“It’s not a big deal. You’re stressing me out,” Natalie teased.

“I’m stressing you out!” he exclaimed with disbelief. “Why are you doing this?” he begged.

“Why do you think?” she asked as if it should be obvious.

“You want to make fun of me?” he theorized.

“No! Well… maybe a little. But no. Yikes, I take it someone did a number on you,” she speculated with a heavy sigh. After another sip, she continued, “I think it’s cool. Weird, but cool.”

“You’re fucking with me,” he stated like it was a matter of fact. 

“Is it really so hard to believe I’m not?”

“Yes,” he answered sincerely. 

“That’s so fucking sad. Listen, I thought I had seen it all. This, however, is new to me. Consider me intrigued,” she elaborated.

“Really?”

“Yes, really,” she affirmed impatiently.

“I… don’t know what to say. I’ve never talked about it with anyone,” he admitted.

“You don’t have to say anything. You could just do it,” she proposed.

“No way,” he avowed.

“Why not? Isn’t that what you want?”

“Absolutely not. I’d look stupid and make people think I’m having a mental breakdown,” Dane explained. 

“I think you can pull it off and mental breakdowns are underrated. Have you tried it?” she inquired.

“I think I’m having one right now,” he suggested dryly.

“Not a mental breakdown. I meant shaving your head!” Natalie clarified emphatically.

“No.”

“Why is your hair so long anyway?” she questioned, extending a hand to touch it, pulling away as he flinched.

“I… don’t like haircuts,” he claimed, causing her to laugh. 

“Clearly not. Maybe you don’t like that you like them,” she grilled. 

“I’m about done with this conversation,” he declared.

“It’s just hair,” she countered. Dane silently disagreed. It wasn’t just hair. It was a security blanket, a buffer between him and the world, a way to avoid being really seen.

“Thank you for what you’re trying to do… but I’m serious. Reading about something is not the same as wanting to do it.”

“I’m not buying it. You can’t think about something that much without wanting more,” she proclaimed.

“You definitely can.”

“Maybe some people can, but I did my research. I went back to that website and in all the stories you liked, the guy has to be forced or talked into it,” Natalie analyzed. “You don’t want to ask for it but deep down you want someone else to cross that line for you,” she accused.

“I don’t have a deep down,” he contended.

“Bullshit. I’ll tell you what: if you can’t admit it, you don’t have to. If you’re not interested, next week tie your hair back like you usually do. But if I’m right, wear your hair down and I’ll take care of the rest. Deal?”

“If it means we can drop this, definitely” he agreed.

“The safe word is… ice cream.”

He finally cracked a smile and wondered aloud, “What do you get out of all this?” 

“Seeing another side of you,” she said with a shrug as a bus came to a stop in front of them.

Baffled, he asked, “What for?” She rolled her eyes and stood. 

“Well, when I played you in ping pong, I got to see that you’re cute when you sweat,” she explained before swiftly vanishing on to the bus.

Week 3

Dane slept poorly for the next few nights. He couldn’t talk to anyone about his dilemma without explaining his secret. He had never imagined anyone knowing his fantasy let alone reacting like this. The attention alone made him dizzy. On one hand a beautiful girl had barged into his life and offered to make his deepest desire a reality. On the other, could he stand to be so vulnerable? What if it was a big joke at his expense? Although he tried to furiously masturbate his nerves away, the decision still hung heavy in the air until Sunday morning. He still hadn’t made up his mind by the time he was showering, dressing, or walking to Griff’s apartment. At last, Dane paused outside Griff’s door and steadied himself. He yanked on his hair tie, shook out his locks, and knocked.

The party inside warmly greeted him. Several people remarked on his hair being down for once, but not Natalie. She barely acknowledged him beyond a polite hello. The whole afternoon came and went without a single snide remark or knowing glance. 

Dane had almost forgotten about the entire arrangement until a private moment with Griff who mentioned, “So you and Natalie?”

“Huh?! What have you heard?” Dane reacted with a start.

“Relax, nothing,” his friend encouraged calmly with a chuckle and a pat on the arm. “I saw that you two left together last week. I think that’s cool man,” he offered.

“Oh… yeah. She’s cool I guess,” Dane 

“You guess?” Griff repeated incredulously.

“I meant-” Dane stammered.

“Easy, I’m just playing. You’ll do great.”

When it was time to leave, Natalie finally addressed Dane directly, “Hey, I’ve got another errand. You in?”

“Yeah,” he agreed before bidding goodbye to Griff who couldn’t contain his grin.

Natalie distracted Dane with idle chitchat on their stroll through town. He played along despite the sinking feeling in his gut and not-so-sinking feeling in his groin. His vision tunneled as they turned a corner and he spotted the barbershop from last week. He slowed down and held the word, “ice cream,” perched on his tongue. His companion grabbed his hand and insisted, “Keep up.” Dane was silent and helpless to resist. Shortly however, he was surprised and relieved as she dragged him past the barbershop and down the block. 

She instead led him into a grocery store. After several dazed minutes of shopping Dane finally mustered, “So you really had an errand?”

“Yeah, I need a big strong man to carry all this shit home for me,” she said gesturing at her cart. “Can you handle it?”

“Of course,” he affirmed with a rueful smile. He started to wonder if he had imagined the whole ordeal until Natalie came to a sudden stop and gave him a serious look in the freezer aisle. 

Gesturing at the wall of ice cream, she asked, “Do you want any?”

“None for me,” he managed reticently.

“Good,” she approved and continued cheerfully shopping.

Dane found the heavy groceries to be a very effective distraction for the fifteen minutes back to her apartment. The pair filed inside and sprawled out her haul. 

“Take a seat while I put this away. Make yourself comfortable,” she encouraged, passing him a cold soda. As she shuffled around the room, opening and closing cabinet doors, he continued to wonder what her plan was and how many more chances he would have to deploy the safe word. She passed behind him as he savored a long sip of his drink. The following instant Dane heard a popping and whirring sound. Before he could even truly register the noise, Natalie made contact with his forehead and raked a pair of unseen clippers straight back. Buzzing filled the air as she tossed ten inch tendrils unceremoniously into his lap. She turned off the clippers and set them down in front of him. He clocked the number one guard around the same time he felt the air move over his strip of scalp.

“Take your shirt off,” she told him.

When he could breathe again, he obeyed and said, “I… didn’t see that coming.”

“You weren’t supposed to,” she attested.

“So this is really happening,” he remarked, touching the stubbly wake of the clippers. 

“It’s certainly too late to back out now,” she reminded him as his pants got tight. 

“Is anyone else here?” he asked.

“Nope,” she verified, rubbing his bare shoulders. “But if you want an audience, we could take this out on the patio where the whole street can see. How humiliating would that be?” she whispered in his ear. His fingers and toes went cold as all the blood flooded his face and crotch. 

“I’m too hard for that. Please, let’s stay inside,” he beseeched breathily.

“Fine,” she acquiesced. “But you have to clean up.”

“Okay,” he agreed.

“Goddamn you’re tense,” she observed as she continued to massage. “It’s actually adorable how nervous you are,” Natalie admired.

Dane tried to respond but could only manage a sputter of laughter.

“I think I broke you,” she wryly theorized. Retrieving the clippers, she gleefully announced, “Oh well, back to work.” The woman resumed careful strokes across her captive’s cranium. “This is actually really fun,” she shared. Meanwhile, Dane lost himself somewhere between catatonia and euphoria as the pile of hair on the floor grew. Her fingers on his velvety scalp were unlike anything he had ever felt before. He finally started to relax until he glimpsed a distorted preview of his reflection on a doorknob in the mirrorless room. He closed his eyes and sank back into the moment. Before long, his head was so light that he felt taller.

“You have a nice head,” Natalie approved after finally turning off the clippers. He opened his eyes to find her fiddling with a trimmer. She tilted his head and brought the smaller machine to his nape where she began to tidy his neckline. “Hold still. I watched a Youtube video on how to do this. If I fuck up we’ll just have to take you down to the skin,” Natalie threatened. The possibility made his cock throb. “That actually turned out pretty good,” she said admiring her work. “I’m almost disappointed, but there’s always next time,” she mused as she brushed his face and neck. A light dusting of trimmings had accumulated on his torso.

“Can I see it?” he asked, rubbing his head blissfully.

“Not until after we both come, got it?” she demanded.

“I’m nearly there,” he admitted. “How do you want to-“

“With your mouth,” she interrupted as she propped herself on the table in front of him and hiked up her skirt.

“Yes, ma’am,” he said, descending to his duty, thinking to himself that they hadn’t even kissed first. 

Enjoying the texture of his fresh buzz, she marveled, “Damn that feels good on my thighs.”

After a passionate display of oral gymnastics, Dane earned mirror privileges. Natalie beckoned, “Let’s clean you up,” and led him giddily to the bathroom as the blood returned to his extremities. 

“Holy shit, this is so weird,” he cursed, studying his strange reflection. 

“Any regrets yet?” she inquired leaning against the wall with her arms folded.

“Oh fuck no,” he declared.

“It suits you. You look tough,” she opined, embracing him from behind.

“I don’t know if people are going to like it,” he worried.

“Well, fortunately you don’t have to worry about impressing anyone else for now,” she said burying her face in his neck.

“Why not?” he asked innocently.

“Damn,” she exclaimed with a playful shove. She explained “I spent $50 on clippers and your face is literally covered in my pussy juice right now and you still don’t seem to get that I like you?”

“Oh…” He cleared his throat and shared, “I like you too,” before she kissed him for the first time.