cut for love

This is my first new story in a long time. warning: there is some sexual content. This story is based on fiction.

Cut for love

Smiling, Iris walked onto the schoolyard. She had finally done it. She walked over to her best friend Sandy.

“Sandy!” she called.

Sandy turned away from the bicycle she had just parked and watched Iris walk toward her.
“Ooo,” she said, “you finally got those cute boots you’ve wanted for so long.”
“Yesss!” Iris exclaimed happily. “Yesterday I was walking through the city with my dad and suddenly I saw them in the window of Shoe Super.”
“That’s awesome,” Sandy said.
“Yeah, now we both finally have them,” Iris said, tugging her skirt—which reached just to her knees—out of the seam where it had crept while cycling.

“Maybe I’ll make more of an impression on Jasper now,” she whispered to her friend.
“Well, who knows,” Sandy replied, “but I’ve heard that he really likes girls who keep up with fashion.”
“That won’t be a problem for me,” Iris giggled.
“Well… maybe it will,” Sandy said hesitantly.
“What do you mean?”
“Well…” Sandy began, “I’ve heard that Jasper likes girls with short hair. He thinks it looks cooler and more edgy.”
“What?” Iris immediately grabbed her long, half-braided ponytail. “I don’t know if I’d want that,” she said uncertainly.
“Just think about it,” Sandy said. “If he really likes you, he should like you the way you are. Come on, we have to get to class or we’ll be late again.”

Iris and Sandy where going to the same high school.They are good students and known as well-behaved and responsible. They are also quite athletic and love shopping. They wear modern clothes and always look well put together. Iris has an average build and long brown hair, which she often styles creatively. Sandy is curvy, with shoulder-length blonde hair that she usually wears loose or in a ponytail. Iris has had a crush on Jasper for quite some time—a boy from another class who is studying fashion.

After her classes, Iris drove straight home. As always, she immediately started working on her assignments. But she couldn’t concentrate. Her thoughts kept drifting back to what Sandy had told her that morning. Should she cut off her long hair? She had had long hair her entire life. It was always well cared for. Her mother had trimmed the ends for years. Iris had never been to a hairdresser before. Her mother had never thought it necessary with such long hair.

More and more women she knew had cut their hair shorter in recent years. Shoulder-length hair was fashionable. But Iris had never seriously considered cutting hers. Still, she decided to ask her mother what she thought.

“Mom, what would you think if I cut my hair shorter?” she asked during dinner.
“Oh sweetheart, you don’t mean that,” her mother said. “It suits you so well. Why would you want it shorter all of a sudden?”
“I just want something different for once,” Iris replied.
“Well,” her mother said, “if you really want to do it, you should go to a hairdresser. I only dare to trim long hair a little.”

The next morning Iris had a free day. As she often did, she wandered through the city, casually looking into shop windows. Suddenly she caught her own reflection. She was wearing a knee-length dress with a denim jacket. Her long hair was loose today. She lifted her hands to the height of her neck.
Hmm… maybe I should just do it, she thought. It’ll grow back anyway.

She walked further down the shopping street and, instead of turning back at the end like she usually did, she turned right into a narrower street. She stopped in front of a display window. This was it—a hair salon where she had once dropped off Marlies. She had never been inside herself. Taking a deep breath, she opened the door.

Inside, she looked around. It was a small salon. Directly opposite her were four chairs against a wall of mirrors, separated by small plastic dividers. To the right were two washbasins with reclining chairs, and near the entrance was a small waiting area.

“Good afternoon,” one of the hairdressers said. “You’ll be next—have a seat.”
Iris took off her jacket and sat down. Two stylists were working. One picked up a hairdryer and began drying an older woman’s hair. The other was shaving the back of a young man’s neck with clippers.

Iris watched attentively. She saw the woman’s cape being removed and watched her walk to the counter to pay. The stylist shook out the cape and took it to a small room next to the washbasins. Iris thought about how her mother had always cut her hair with just a towel over her shoulders. She had never worn a real salon cape before. She noticed the young man also had a white paper neck strip under his cape. When she saw how neatly his neck was being shaved, she felt butterflies in her stomach.
What will I look like when I’m done? she wondered.

“All right, your turn.”
Iris hadn’t noticed the stylist returning. “Come sit here,” she said kindly.

The stylist gently gathered Iris’s hair and brushed it smooth.
“So,” she asked, “what would you like to do with your hair?”
“Well…” Iris hesitated. “I want it quite a bit shorter.”
“That’s no problem,” the stylist smiled. “You look a little nervous.”
Iris smiled back. “I’ve always had long hair. I just want something different.”
“How short do you want it?”

Suddenly Iris felt calm. “I’d like a bob.”
“Good choice,” the stylist said. “I’ll make it easier for you. I’ll tie your hair into a ponytail and cut it off in one go. Then the biggest step is done.”

Iris took a deep breath and nodded. The stylist gathered her long hair, tied an elastic around it, took the scissors, and held the ponytail firmly.
“Are you sure?” she asked one last time.
“Yes,” Iris said firmly.

She heard the loud metallic sound. Snip… snip… snip.
“Tada!” the stylist said, holding up the ponytail proudly.

Iris shook her head and felt the short hairs tickle her neck.
Oh wow… she thought, tears filling her eyes.
“Come on,” the stylist said gently. “Let’s wash your hair first.”

After washing, Iris sat back in the chair.
“So,” the stylist asked, “how exactly would you like it?”
“What do you think would suit me best?” Iris replied.
“Well, if you dare—a sleek, sharply cut bob.”

Iris nodded. “Yes, that sounds good.”
Then she paused, thinking. If I’m doing this, I might as well really do it.
She surprised herself with her next question.
“Could you clip up my nape too? Like you did with that man earlier?”

The stylist’s eyes widened, then she smiled. “That would look great on you. We’ll keep the front a bit longer.”
“Yes,” Iris said.

The stylist returned with a large silver salon cape and draped it around Iris in one smooth motion. The soft nylon slid over her arms and legs. It felt wonderful against her bare skin. A paper neck strip was placed snugly around her neck, and the cape was fastened securely with double row of snaps. It was very tight now and Iris felt trapped in it. But she loved it. The chair was pumped up until her feet no longer touched the floor.

The longer sections of hair were clipped up, leaving the back loose. The stylist combed it down and began cutting close to Iris’s neck. Dark strands slid down the smooth cape. Lock by lock, the shape took form around her neck and ears.

“All right, be brave,” the stylist said, returning with clippers.

“Chin to your chest.”
She gently guided Iris’s head forward and switched the clippers on. They moved upward along her neck. Iris shivered at the sensation. It felt great. The cape so tight on her neck, and the clippers that went higher and higher in her neck. It excited her. Gently she slid her fingers down. She found her happy spot and started to enjoy it gently. When the hairdresser continued with the clippers, she came sighing. She was shocked by her own whim. But no one seemed to have seen it. It felt so good.  When the stylist finished, she checked her work carefully, made a few final passes, and switched the clippers off.

The clips were removed, the front refined, and soon the cut was finished.
“So, what do you think?” the stylist asked.
“I love it,” Iris said, smiling brightly.

After blow-drying, the stylist brushed away stray hairs, opened the cape, and removed the neck strip. She made a few final clean-ups at the nape with a small trimmer, then removed the cape completely.

Iris stood up and looked at herself in the mirror.
Wow. A sharply cut bob with a shaved nape. She barely recognized herself—and she loved it.

The next day, Sandy stared at her in shock.
“Oh my god, Iris—what did you do?! That looks amazing.”
Iris enjoyed all the attention she received.

Then she saw Jasper. She took a deep breath and walked up to him.
“Wow, Iris,” he said softly. “I had no idea you were this beautiful. And that you’d dare to cut your hair so short.”
Blushing, Iris smiled. “I did it for you. I heard you liked women with short hair.”
Jasper blushed too, meeting her gaze—and then she finally felt his lips on hers.

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