The Unexpected Date

Clara lounged on her dorm room bed, chatting on her phone. Her books and studying all but forgotten.
“Again, thank you so much for all your help with my Economics homework! That test was a lot easier than I expected it to be, but that is all thanks to you.”
Clara laughed.

“Well, I enjoy the idea of influencing the economies of the world, but have a hard time wrapping my head around the numbers of how it works.”
Clara’s face started to shift. Over the next couple of minutes, her face went from happy, to concerned, to intrigued. Finally, she settled on hopeful anticipation.
“Wait, you want to go out with me?”
A slow well of joy started to bubble up inside her.
“Yeah, I am free this Saturday.”
Another pause, “Sure, we can start early. I have a place that I like to just spend time by myself, it is peaceful and we can hang out.”
“OK, see you at 8.”
Clara hung up the phone and just sat there dumbfounded. She had a date.
Lauren walked into the room, and stared at Clara for a moment. Her friend was never this zoned out.
“You ok Clara?” Lauren asked tentatively.
Clara, catching that she was out of it, gave her head a small shake.
“Yeah, I am fine. Just got some unexpected news,” she didn’t want to say anything to her roommate, as even she wasn’t sure if it was real yet.
“You need my help with anything? That news must have been something, as you are never this stunned by anything.”
Clara looked up at her friend, “No, its fine. I think it is good news. Just unexpected,” she smiled kindly to her friend. “I will let you know what is going on once I know what is happening. And if I need anything.”
Lauren looked at Clara, a little confused, but willing to give her friend some space.
~*~
The next couple days went by in a pleasant blur for Clara. A couple of classes that were more of a haze than anything.
She couldn’t stop thinking about her upcoming date. Her, on a date? She had been told often enough that she was attractive that she somewhat believed it. However, between her desire to be alone, mess of wild curls, and intentionally wearing more comfy clothing, she hadn’t been approached by guys.
Her friends Lauren and Sierra we always being hit on and seemed to love it. Between their tall, lean bodies, and long luscious hair, they seemed to be guy magnets. And Clara was ok with being in their shadow.
Then there was Rachel and her fire red hair. Guys always went slack jawed at that hair. Even if her friend’s body wasn’t as lean as her other friends, her hair was enough to draw them in.
But here she was, preparing for a date.
~*~
Friday night was here, and Clara couldn’t sleep. Her thoughts kept turning towards the worst possible outcome for tomorrow.
Thoughts kept swirling in her head,
‘What if he doesn’t like me beyond helping me study?’
‘What if my hair decides to be a frizzy mess? I would be ugly, and he would hate that.’
Finally, her alarm clock cut through a restless dream at 6am. Being a Saturday, all her roommates would be sleeping until 10 at the earliest.
As she slipped out of bed and into the bathroom, she glanced at Lauren, mouth slightly open, and her golden hair in disarray from sleep.
’Even like that she is beautiful,’ Clara thought, ’She should be the one on this date, not me.’
Clara hopped in the shower, doing a quick wash of her hair.
The curls always caused problems, and thus she needed extra time to make them presentable.
The next part always seemed to take the longest. She hung her head upside down while she started to blow dry her hair with a diffuser. She loved the look of her curls when she could get them to fall correctly, but with almost no sleep, she started to get dizzy from all the blood rushing to her head.
Finally, her hair was mostly dry. Time for all the curl products to try to get these curls to hold. This was especially important. Between the college being in a coastal town, and with winter starting to set in, the humidity was through the roof. She needed these curls to behave today.
Her phone dinged. ‘Oh crap, he’s almost here!’ she startled as she realized that is was already 7:50.
She quickly slipped back into her room and dressed. Jeans and a light sweater should work for today.
Slipping out the door, she quickly made her way outside.
‘Perfect timing,’ she thought, as Tom rolled up to the curb.
He was a striking man. A few inches taller than her. Dark hair in a classic men’s hairstyle, and tan, even in the winter months. All in all, Clara couldn’t believe she had a date with someone as handsome as this guy.
Tom quickly got out of the vehicle and came around to open the door for her.
‘AND a gentleman?!’ she thought. ‘What did I do to deserve this?’
“So, you mentioned a quiet place we can hang out?” Tom asked as she climbed in.
“Yep,” her almost too fast reply, “Start driving, and I’ll show you.”
“Oh, so you are woman of mystery as well,” he chimed back as he got back into the driver’s seat, “Lead the way.”
Clara’s stomach was doing flips as she guided Tom towards a secluded beach she liked to visit when she wanted to be alone.
Five minutes later and they were parked, headed for the beach.
“You did not tell me it was the beach,” Tom muttered, “I would have worn different shoes.”
“Sorry,” Clara winced, as she glanced down at his loafers, “I like this place because it is quiet. I didn’t think about what would be needed out here.”
“You could always take them off,” she said, somewhat teasing.
“No,” came his quick reply, “It is a little too cold out for that. I will just have to spend a little time cleaning them later, that is all.”
With that, they started walking along the beach. It was cold enough that fog had rolled in and it felt like they were alone in their own little bubble.

“Yep,” her almost too fast reply, “Start driving, and I’ll show you.”
“Oh, so you are woman of mystery as well,” he chimed back as he got back into the driver’s seat, “Lead the way.”
Clara’s stomach was doing flips as she guided Tom towards a secluded beach she liked to visit when she wanted to be alone.
Five minutes later and they were parked, headed for the beach.
“You did not tell me it was the beach,” Tom muttered, “I would have worn different shoes.”
“Sorry,” Clara winced, as she glanced down at his loafers, “I like this place because it is quiet. I didn’t think about what would be needed out here.”
“You could always take them off,” she said, somewhat teasing.
“No,” came his quick reply, “It is a little too cold out for that. I will just have to spend a little time cleaning them later, that is all.”
With that, they started walking along the beach. It was cold enough that fog had rolled in and it felt like they were alone in their own little bubble.
The conversation slowly started up. Now that they were on a date, and not just working through Economics homework, they finally had a chance to actually get to know each other.
He came from a family of corporate lawyers, and was studying to become a lawyer himself. She was a business student, just hoping to MAYBE make middle management someday.
They walked for what seemed like minutes but ended up being hours. The conversation flowing more easily between them.
“You are more spectacular than I thought you would be,” Tom commented as they made their way back to his car.
“Really? I was surprised you even talked to me at the game last week.”
“You looked to be struggling with that homework and given that I have always been expected to follow in the family ‘business’, economics comes easy to me.”
“Well, I thank you for that, though honestly I would have expected you to get with my friend Lauren. You remember her, right? The tall blonde.”
Tom laughed, “Yeah, I remember,” rubbing the back of his neck, “honestly, I might have, but after having to force that head shave on Dan, I was not really in the mood for anything. Then I saw you looking like you were about to chuck that book in the trash, and I felt I should rescue you, and it, from doing something unthinkable.”
Clara, her eyes full of amusement, “Well, we both thank you again for that. Your different way of looking at it was very helpful.”
“You are welcome.”
They drove back towards the dorms in quiet companionship.
“Can you drop me off about a block from my dorm?” Clara finally asked.
“Why?”
“I didn’t tell my roommates about this date, and while I had a great time, I don’t want to want them to interrogate me about this.”
She turned to him, a pleading look in her eyes.
“I want to make sure this is something before I let them know about us.”
“Do you want this to be something?” came his soft reply.
Placing a hand on top of his, “I think so, but let’s see how the next date goes.”
“Oh, so now you are asking me out?” he gave her a wry smile.
“Maybe?”
He pulled over a block from her dorm. Just far enough for anybody to be able to spot them from the building.
“I’ll call you,” Clara said as she stepped out, “I want to do this again.”
“Me too. How about next week? Same time?”
“Sure.”
With that, Clara walked back to the dorm, face flushed with the experience.
~*~
As expected, the girls were up, and noticed when Clara walked in.
“Have a nice walk on the beach?” Rachel asked as Clara entered the common room.
Clara flushed harder, cheeks going almost beet red.
Sierra noticed almost immediately, “Wait? Were you with someone? You’re blushing.”
Clara rushed into her room that she shared with Lauren and closed the door.
Lauren cocked her head, trying to figure out what was going on.
“Were you on a date? Was that the news from the other day?”
Clara plopped down on her bed, “Yeah,” she said, almost blushing harder.
“Do you want to talk about it?” Lauren probed.
Clara sat there for a bit, contemplating.
“Not just yet.”
“OK, I am here when you want to spill your big secret.”
~*~
The next week came and Clara again slipped out before anyone else was up.
Tom again dropped her off far enough to not be noticed by Clara’s ‘nosy’ roommates, though they didn’t make as big of a fuss this time.
By the third week, the trip out was expected by the three, and they all but ignored her as she returned.
Clara plopped down at her desk. Much more contemplative than the previous two weeks.
After a few moments, she turned to Lauren, who was sitting on her bed reading a novel.
“Lauren,” Clara said quietly, “I think I am ready to talk.”
Lauren quickly put her book down and stared at her friend, expectantly.
“You were right about these being dates,” Clara began, “and they have been wonderful…”
“But…” Lauren pushed.
Clara sighed, “We got talking about our families today, and he hinted at wanting to introduce me to his.”
“What?!” Lauren almost squealed, but quickly realized that Clara wasn’t quite having it, “Ok, what is wrong? Is that not a good thing?”
“I think it’s a good thing,” came Clara’s response a moment later, “It’s just his family. The way he describes them seems more polished and refined than who I am.”
“What do you mean? Like more upper-class, ‘your appearance can make the family look bad’ sort of ‘refined’?”
“That pretty much sums up the way he described them,” she said as she dropped her head and started to fiddle with the ends of her hair, “He mentioned that his mom keeps her hair in a sharp, chin length bob. Very elegant.”
Lauren starts to chuckle, “And you are miss ‘rather wear sweats than put on something nice’”
“Exactly.”
Lauren let that sit for a moment, “So, is he worth possibly changing you look?”
Clara sat there for several minutes, thinking about it.
Slowly she looks up into Lauren’s eyes, “I think so.”
Sighing, “Lauren… I think I need a haircut. Will you go with me?”
A soft smile spread over Lauren’s face, “Of course. Though, are you going to tell me who this guy is? He sure has made an impression on you if you are willing to change your look after only a few weeks.”
A blush started to creep over Clara’s face, “Let’s get through this haircut, and then I will tell you. I don’t want to lose my nerve and then have everything fall apart between us.”
“Fair,” Lauren got up, “Well, if you want to get it done, then we should do it now. Better to do it before you lose your nerve,” she stuck out her hand to help Clara up.
Clara takes the offered hand and stands. Together they walked out the door.
~*~
5 minutes later, Lauren pushed open the door to a chain salon, Clara following on her heals.
The receptionist looks up, “Welcome, how can I help you?”
Lauren stepped to the side, allowing Clara to step around her.
“Is there an opening for a haircut?” Clara squeaked out.
The receptionist glances back down, “Yeah, Brittany can take you quick. Let me take you to her station.”
The receptionist walked them over to a station next to the window, “Have a seat. I will go get Brittany.”
Clara tentatively sat down in the chair. Lauren found a chair and sat down close enough to Clara to hold her hand.
Clara was starting to shake. She wasn’t sure she would could do. All she could do was picture Tom’s face as she showed up with a much more refined style.
“Hi, I’m Brittany. What are we doing today?”
Clara almost jumped, her nerves were on high alert.
Clara took a quick second to focus, “Yes, I need a haircut that is more refined. I was thinking about a chin length bob.”
“Oh, that would look amazing on you. Probably some arched bangs as well to frame those lovely eyes of yours.”
“Really?” Clara stammered out, “I have never had bangs. How would they look with my curls?”
“We’ll straighten them. The contrast with the curly hair is striking and will highlight those eyes of yours even more.”
Lauren, sensing that the stylist might be getting a little scissor happy at the thought of cutting all that hair off, piped in, “Clara, only do what you feel comfortable with. Though bangs would be cute on you.”
Clara gave Lauren a bit of a withering glare before focusing her attention back on the mirror.
Brittany gathered up Clara’s hair with her left hand and scrunched it out a bit, “This is about what the finished look will be like.”
Clara turned her head slightly each direction, admiring how her hair would frame around her face.
“OK, let’s do it,” Clara said shakily.
Neither Clara nor Lauren had seen Brittany slide her scissors out of the holder she had on her hip, and that they were already poised to cut Clara’s hair.

As the scissors slid into Clara’s hair, Brittany said in a very cheerful voice, “OK, we are going to get rid of the bulk quick, then get you washed up, and shape up the rest.”
Before she had even finished the sentence, the sound of the scissors sawing away at her ponytail could be heard.
Clara had gone stiff and was squeezing Lauren’s hand with a death grip.
“I’m right here,” Lauren said in a low, calming voice, “You’ve got this.”
Clara could feel every tug of the scissors as they worked their way through her hair. Her heart was pounding in her chest and seemed to rachet up whenever the scissors bit into her hair.
After an eternity of the tug of war between her hair and the scissors, her head seemed to snap forward as the tension released.
As she pulled her head back up, hair fell roughly around her neck, no longer falling onto her chest.
She started to feel light headed, ‘This is really happening!’ she thought to herself.
Lauren squeezed her hand in encouragement.
“There you go sweety. Let’s go get your hair washed.”
Clara slowly stood up, not able to take her eyes off her new, ragged bob.
She slowly turned to follow Brittany.
She glanced at the floor behind the chair. There was her hair, just lying in a dead pile on the floor.
She started to feel lightheaded again and had to grab the back of the chair for support.
Taking a steading breath, she focused on where Brittany was heading and slowly started to follow her.
As she lay back and placed her head in the shampoo bowl, her head was spinning.
‘What am I doing?’, ‘I just lost all of my hair!’, and ‘I am doing this for Tom!’ kept swirling around in her head.
The warm water started running over her scalp.
This started to calm her down and relax her, though her brain was still going way too fast for comfort.
Clara’s breathing finally started to subside as Brittany worked the shampoo into her hair.
‘OK, that feels good’, Clara thought. ‘I needed a little pampering at least. Though, am I really cutting off my hair for a guy that I met two months ago?’
Clara had finally settled down to a semi-calm state when Brittany finished with the wash.
“OK, time to sit up,” Brittany’s voice broke through the mental calm that Clara had built up over the last few minutes.
Brittany led Clara back to the styling chair. Clara noticed that her hair was no longer behind the chair.
‘And just like that, it is completely gone,’ Clara thought, her heart sinking a little.
She sat down and a grey cape was quickly thrown around her.
Brittany separated Clara’s hair, pinning all but the front up.
Stepping around front, Brittany quickly combed down the hair in front of her face, snipping them off at eye level.
Clara was in shock. She wasn’t sure she agreed to bangs, but now she was getting them no matter if she wanted them or not.
Brittany grabbed the straightener off the counter, running them over Clara’s new bangs.
“Just straightening them so that I can shape them properly,” Brittany said, though she seemed to be in her own world and somewhat oblivious to the anxiousness that was building within Clara again.
After her bangs were straightened, Brittany started making much more precise cuts, giving her bangs that sat about an inch over her eyebrows, and curved down slightly on the edges.
As Brittany stepped back, Clara got her first look at her new bangs.
‘OK, those are cute. I could get used to them,’ Clara thought to herself as she admired how they framed her eyes.
Brittany slipped behind Clara and let the pinned hair down. She started running her fingers through it, lifting it. Watching the way Clara’s curls fell around her head.
Clara felt the comb slide across the back of her head, separating out the hair at her nape, while the remainder was pinned back up. The scraping sensation sent a bit of a shiver down her spine. She wasn’t used to haircuts that were this close to her skin and wasn’t sure what to think.
Brittany stepped forward and grabbed something off her station, though Clara couldn’t tell what.
As Brittany finished stepping behind Clara, she pushed on the top of Clara’s head, tilting her chin down.
There was a pop, then Clara felt a vibration rolling through the base of her skull.
“What are you doing?!” Clara called out.
“Your curls are so thick, I have to take some weight out of the back, or else your hair is going to stick out everywhere and it won’t lay flat.”
All Clara could do was sit there in silence as her hair was shaved clean off. It took every ounce of her free will to keep her breathing under control so that she wouldn’t hyperventilate.
Hair was falling all over her shoulders, adding to the growing sense of unease that was building in her chest.
Finally the buzzing stopped and Brittany stepped away for a second to take care of something.

Clara reached back and felt the nape of her neck. Nothing but sandpaper greeted her fingertips.
OK, now things seemed to have gone too far. Clara wasn’t sure if she could handle any more of this.
Britanny returned and put a hand on Clara’s shoulder, “That was the worst of it. Trust me, you will look amazing with this cut.”
Clara could only nod slightly.
Lauren, who had moved a little further away to allow Brittany space to work came back over and took Clara’s hand again.
“Well, if nothing else, you now have a badass undercut to shock guys with,” Lauren quipped.
Clara chuckled nervously at that.
“There. At least you can laugh a little bit about it,” Lauren said and Clara gave a weak smile.
The rest of the cut went by in a bit of a blur for Clara.
In no time, the cut was done.
Clara sat there, staring at her new hair. Falling right at chin length, it really did frame her eyes beautifully. Though as she reached to feel the back, her fingers slipped under her hair and caught the undercut.
A shiver ran down her spine at the sensation that it brought to her fingertips.
‘I might just be able to get used to this,’ she thought.
Lauren stepped up beside her and dangled some hoop earrings in front of Clara’s face.
“I had these in my purse. I think they will work great hanging under that bob.”
Clara slipped them into her ears. Lauren was right, they looked great falling under the bob.
“Come on,” Lauren said with a grin, “I think you need a sweet treat after that trauma.”
Clara couldn’t help but laugh.
“Agreed!”
~*~
After paying, Clara and Lauren made their way down the street to a diner and ordered milkshakes.

“So, who is this mystery boyfriend that just made you chop off most of your hair?” Lauren asked.
Clara ducked her head and was quickly aware that she could no longer hide behind her long curls.
With a bit of a shy look at Lauren, “Would you believe me if I told you it was Tom? From the football games.”
Lauren stared at her friend, “Tom, the dark haired one? I saw you talking to him, but you still had your textbook open. I figured you guys were talking about classes.”
“We were. He helped me pass that last Economics test.”
“Really?” Lauren couldn’t believe it, “Is that who you were talking to over the next week? Was Tom helping you study?”
“Yep!” Clara covered her smile with a large drink of her milkshake.
“You know, I was about to entice him when I saw the two of you talking.”
Clara could only gape at her friend, “What did you do instead?”
“Well, Rachel was still snuggling with Daniel, and Sierra was having fun joking with the other big guy, so I decided I might as well take a pass at the skinny one.”
The look of disbelief just kept growing on Clara’s face.
“You, took a pass at the nerd?” Clara asked, a look of disbelief, “What was his name again?”
“Andrew, I think,” Lauren said around her straw.
“Well, don’t leave me hanging! What happened?”
“Surprisingly… nothing, and I was giving him a great view of my boobs.”
“What? You showed him your boobs, and nothing happened? How?”
“He was too focused on this game that he plays. After I asked about it, he just started talking and didn’t seem to notice my looks at all.”
A flush started to creep up Lauren’s cheeks.
Staring at the red that was now blooming on her friend’s cheeks, Clara couldn’t help but rib her, “Wait… Did that turn you on?”
Lauren almost seemed t choke on her milkshake, “No…, well maybe… I don’t know. I mean, it felt good to just be a person to him, and not just my body.”
“The big, bad, beautiful Lauren is more than just her body?” Clara gasped, “Who knew.”
Lauren gave her a playful shove.
“You know, I might be able to convince Tom to get me Andrew’s number.”
“I might just take you up on that offer.”
~*~
The reaction back at the dorm room was about what you would expect. Shock, squeals of delight.
Clara was a little overwhelmed by all the attention.
Though she kept any mention of the undercut to herself, and wisely so did Lauren.
As everything settled down, Clara plopped back onto her bed. Grabbing her phone, she quickly texted Tom.
I know we have our weekly date, but can we meet up tomorrow? Maybe at your place? We need to talk and I need to show you something.
It only took a moment for Clara to see that he had read the message. Though it took almost five minutes for Tom to start writing a reply.
Over the next five minutes, the typing bubble kept coming and going. Clara was wondering if she might have made a mistake in cutting her hair.
Finally, Tom replied.
‘Sure, can you come early? Our normal 8am? The guys will not be awake yet.’
‘I will be there’, she shot back almost immediately.
With that, Clara crawled into bed, hoping that tomorrow morning would not be a disaster.
~*~
The next morning Clara was a ball of nervous energy.
Finally, she reached Tom’s apartment, and she lightly knocked on his door.
A moment later he opened the door and his jaw almost instantly went slack.
“Clara, what did you do to your hair?”
“Maybe we should sit down.”
“Where are my manners, you are right, come on in.”
Clara stepped into the spacious apartment. She spotted the couch and instantly plopped down on the floor in front of it.
Tom just stared at her, a little bewildered.
Clara looked up and laughed at him, “Sorry, I just find it more comfortable on the floor sometimes, and right now I think I need comfort.”
“Fair enough,” Tom laughed as he joined her, “Though why you need the extra comfort, I do not know. If you were scared that I would not like the new look, I like it. Though I want to know why you decided to cut it.”

Clara was hesitant for a moment, “Well, as we were talking about our families yesterday, the way you described yours, I started to get really concerned that I wouldn’t be accepted due to my appearance. You make them sound very fancy and poised.”
Tom placed his hand on her cheek, rubbing his thumb over her cheekbone.
“While you might be right about that, if we got to that point, we would figure out how to deal with it. Though this look will definitely fit in.“
Just then, his fingers grazed the back of her nape, and he froze, “Though an undercut might not,” he laughed.
“The stylist did it without asking,” she said dryly, “She said that with my curls, it wouldn’t lay right without it.”
“Well then, it can be our secret,” came his soft response as he dragged her face closer for a kiss.
As they separated, “I’m glad you like it,” she whispered.
“I love it.”
After a moment of staring at each other, Clara started.
“I do think I have one more request from you,” she said.
“What is that?”
“It seems my roommate, Lauren, has a bit of a thing for Andrew and would like his number.”
Tom looked a little confused for a moment, “Wait, the blonde, interested in Andrew?”
“Yeah, something about him being so wrapped up in a game that he plays that he couldn’t be bothered to stare at her boobs, which she had on full display. Something about that got her interested in him.”
Tom let out a burst of laughter. Something much louder than was appropriate when not trying to wake roommates.
“The beauty and the geek, who would have guessed. Though we shall see if he agrees. He really has not shown any interest in anyone, though I think that is more because he likes his nerd stuff more.”
“Well, maybe Lauren can change that,” Clara laughed too.
Just then, a bedroom door opened, and a blurry-eyed Andrew shuffling out. He paused for a moment, turned to look at the couple, shook his head and kept walking towards the kitchen.

~*~

Stories in chronological order:

The Game – The whole gang
The Unexpected Date – Clara and Tom

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