Suited for a James

The Day Before

James stood watching herself in the mirror, carefully threading her waist length golden blond hair into two identical dutch braids. Once she was satisfied she smiled at her reflection – she was wearing her favourite athleisure: tight black leggings, a form-fitting black top and white sneakers. Growing up with the name James, she was sometimes mistaken for a boy, especially with her slender figure lacking the curves most women her age were blessed with. James ended up growing her hair to Rapunzel lengths, and she never left the house without a full face of makeup – drawing the attention and desire of countless men. 

“Perfect” James said. She called for her dog, a golden retriever whose shiny coat matched her own silky mane. “Come on boy, lets go explore our new town”.

James and her dog ventured outside, walking around her new neighbourhood on this sunny afternoon. James had finally managed to leave her last relationship and decided to make a clean break from her controlling ex by moving from the city to this small quiet town. “No men” she had decided – time to just focus on herself and her dog to rebuild her life here. 

After walking for several minutes, James stumbled across an off leash dog park. “Look boy – this place is perfect for us!” she exclaimed. James and her dog hurried into the dog park, her blonde braids falling gently behind her. James took off her dog’s leash and took a look around until she found a decently sized stick. Nobody else seemed to be around so James threw the stick as far as she could, yelling “Go fetch boy!”. 

James watched the stick fly through the air – at the same time she watched a very handsome man with a tiny dog appear from behind a tree, right in the path of the stick that she threw. “Oh no – watch out!” James yelled, hoping that the stick wouldn’t hit the guy, who she deemed Hot Stranger in her mind.

At the last possible second, the Hot Stranger ducked, the stick missing his beautiful face by inches. “Phew” James breathed out, relieved. Then she rushed over to the Hot Stranger. “I’m so so sorry” she apologised, nervously stroking one of her braids.

The Hot Stranger look down at James – he was tall, much taller than her. His eyes were striking – icy blue, compared to her dull brown eyes. His jawline was chiselled to perfection. What stood out to her the most was this guy’s hair – or lack thereof. The back and sides were shaved down to the skin, the top only with the faintest of dark stubble remaining. “He must be a military man” James thought with a thrill of excitement.

The Hot Stranger’s blue eyes glinted as he gazed down at James, taking her in for a minute before responding. This woman had the most beautiful, long, golden hair that he had ever seen – and he wanted it all for himself. “You should be more careful” he replied, his deep voice slightly intimidating. Then he smiled slightly at her before putting down his small white dog so it could play with her golden retriever “I haven’t seen you around here before”.

James beamed at him, pleased that he wanted to keep talking to her. “I’m new here – we just moved here”.

“We?” the Hot Stranger raised one eyebrow.

“Oh – me and my dog” James replied, blushing “It’s just us”.

“Well, welcome to the neighbourhood. I’m Clark” the Hot Stranger – no, not a stranger anymore, Clark now – reached out to shake her hand.

“Nice to meet you Clark – I’m James” she replied, reaching out to firmly shake his hand.

“James…” Clark mused, saying her name aloud like he was testing it out.

“I know, it’s such a boyish name” James explained, for some reason embarrassed even though she had come to embrace her name “But it suits me I think.”

“Yes … I think it could” Clark smiled slyly without further elaborating. “Well, if you need any neighbourhood recommendations I’m your guy – I just live a few streets over. Although I’m not usually here at the dog park, I’m just dogsitting for my sister”.

That made sense – James had been surprised to see such a manly man with such a tiny dog. “Thank you, I appreciate it” she smiled up at Clark, warmly meeting his eyes. “Well I could always use some local restaurant recommendations, especially if there’s any good Thai food around here” she paused, looking down at her braids, noting that the very ends were looking a little frayed. “And you probably don’t have any suggestions, but if your sister or someone has a stylist I would love to get their info, I really need a little trim”.

Clark couldn’t believe his luck – this was going to be easier than he thought. “Well, there is an amazing Thai restaurant a few blocks away – maybe I could take you out for dinner sometime?” he asked, sending James’ heart beating out of her chest. She knew she said no men but this was the most handsome man that she had ever seen and he wanted to take her out!

Before she could reply, Clark continued “And, I actually am a barber – so I could give you that haircut that you need” he winked at her.

James froze, letting his words sink in before replying. “Oh no, I don’t need a short haircut – thanks for the offer though” she replied as nicely as possible, hoping not to offend him.

Clark chuckled gently “I work at a unisex barbershop. I cut women’s hair too – even long hair. Why don’t you come by tomorrow evening around 5pm or so? I can give you that haircut and then we can go to dinner” he suggested seductively.

“Ok fine” James blurted out before she could stop herself. What was she doing? She had never gotten her hair cut in a barbershop before. But she couldn’t resist dinner with Clark. Besides, he was a professional – how bad could it be?

“Tomorrow evening” Clark smiled, pleased with himself. He knew that those two thick golden braids of hair swinging down James’ back would soon be his. “5pm. 11 Main Street – you can’t miss it. My shop’s called Classic Cuts, with the red, white, and blue striped pole out front”. 

“5pm. Classic Cuts.” James repeated, stroking one of her silky braids “See you then”.

The Day Of

“Shit I’m going to be late!” James exclaimed. She had been on the phone with her best friend and completely lost track of time. She was wearing jeans and a white tee shirt, her golden blonde locks were freshly washed and dried and flowing freely down to her waist. She was fresh faced, no time to put on makeup now before heading out the door. She hoped Clark would still find her attractive enough to take to dinner after her haircut – or maybe she would have time to go home and get ready after her haircut before dinner, as she didn’t know what time the reservation was. Her stomach was full of butterflies. She was excited to see Clark again, and she was also nervous for him to cut her hair in his barbershop.

James made it to Classic Cuts just as the time hit 5pm. She was relieved as Clark did not seem like he would appreciate somebody being late. She surveyed the shop – it seemed small but modern, and sure enough the striped barber pole was spinning in the front of the shop, beckoning customers. A young man was leaving the shop just as she approached. His hair was buzzed so short that James could see his scalp through the remaining stubble, all uniform in length. Again James was reminded of a military recruit. She hesitated momentarily – was she really going to get her precious mane cut in a barbershop? Then she thought of Clark’s striking blue eyes and all was forgotten as she entered the shop.

“Hey there – glad you made it” Clark approached her in greeting, leaning in to hug her. He was so strong he almost lifted her off the ground. 

James’ freshly washed hair tickled Clark’s nose as he inhaled her clean scent, wrapping his muscular arms around her silky locks. He felt himself growing rock hard so he quickly let go and flipped the shop’s “Open” sign to “Closed”. 

“You’re my last customer of the day” Clark smiled at James, closing the window blinds “So I figured I would give us a bit of privacy” he winked at her. “The other barbers have already left for the day.”

“Aw thank you, that’s so thoughtful” James said, looking around the barbershop. The shop was much more simple than the fancy hair salons she usually frequented. There were three large leather barber chairs, each facing a square shaped mirror. Under each mirror is a shelf which held various hair tools, including combs, scissors, and even clippers. It smelled clean and sterile. James swallowed, hard. “It’s fine James, he’s just going to give you a trim” she told herself to calm her nerves.

Clark put his hand on the small of James’ back and let her to the middle chair. “This is my station – why don’t you take a seat and we can get started” he suggested.

James sat down in the smooth leather chair – it was much larger than the salon chairs she was used to. Her blond mane rippled around her, covering up most of her small body. 

Clark moved quickly, gathering her golden locks up in his big hands, then twisting them until they rested in a pile on top of her head. “Can you hold that there for a second?” He asked her. James obliged, resting her hand on top of the massive pile of hair trying to keep it from slipping. 

Clark reached towards his station and then stood behind her, wrapping what seemed like tissue paper around her neck. James had never experienced anything like this in a salon. “What’s that?” She asked curiously. 

“Oh nothing, just something we use in barbershops,” Clark answered as he placed a cape around her, snapping it tightly around her neck. The cape was massive and swallowed up most of her body. “There – you can let go” Clark’s deep voice whispered sexily in her ear.

James obeyed, soft golden blonde waves tumbling down all over the cape.

“Your hair is beautiful,” Clark murmured, taking in all her glorious hair. It was by far the longest head of hair he had ever had sit in his chair. He took a spray bottle and slowly started to spray her mane all over until it was damp, her blonde locks darkening to a more muted colour. James watched him in the mirror, her eyes fixed on his every move.

Clark picked up a comb and started to slide it through her wet mane, easily moving through it as there was not a knot or tangle – her hair was really perfect.

“So your haircut” Clark said, picking up a pair of sharp gleaming scissors. “What do you consider a trim?” he asked.

“Oh I don’t know – not too much” James answered nervously. “Maybe an inch?” she asked, her voice growing higher.

“An inch it is” Clark replied reassuringly. “Head down” he ordered. James lowered her head to her chin. He bent down and carefully started snipping just the requested inch – no more – from the ends of her hair, giving James a blunt one length cut that still would brush her waist. James breathed a sigh of relief – despite the barbershop, the clippers, he really was just giving her a trim! She should have never been so worried. At the same time, James strangely felt a little disappointed – had she wanted Clark to cut her hair shorter? “No” she told herself. She just must have let the excitement of being in the barbershop get to her.

Clark made the tiniest of snips as he finished up her trim. “What do you think? He asked, running his fingers through her magnificent hair.

James looked in the mirror at her reflection. She had to admit, he did a great job. The only indication that she had a haircut was that her once straggly ends were now uniform in length and looked healthier than ever. “It’s perfect” she beamed at her reflection “Thank you – wait what’s wrong?” Clark was frowning at her in the mirror.

“It’s just still much too long – don’t worry I’ll fix it” Clark replied swiftly as he lifted his scissors again, this time all the way up until they were level with James’ jaw. His blue eyes turned icy steel. Before she had time to react Clark started quickly slicing through her mane, brutally cutting off feet of hair. “Shnick, schnick, schnick” Two feet swaths of hair slid down, past the cape, some landing in her lap, most landing on the floor. “Schnick, schnick, schnick” James sat in stunned silence as Clark hacked away at her golden mane, felt the cool steel of his scissors against the back of her neck as he quickly reduced her locks to a rough, short jaw-length bob.

Once James snapped out of the shock of what was happening, she started sobbing, tears streaming down her face. “Clark!!!” She wept, mourning the loss of her beautiful hair “Why are you doing this” she cried, feeling the ends of her severed locks tickle her cheek. Her hair had just moments ago covered her back. She started to cry harder. At the same time, she felt strangely turned on – surely she just must be confused because Clark is so handsome? But he’s cutting all her beautiful hair off? James didn’t know what to think.

“Schnick, Schnick, Schnick” Clark finished slicing off the last of James’ long locks with a satisfied flourish, smiling wickedly as he watched them fall to the floor. Clark met James’ eyes in the mirror, his gaze showing no remorse. “Well your hair was stunning – I didn’t lie about that – but it was much too long. I couldn’t have you walk out of my barbershop with waist length hair, if people saw they would think I didn’t know how to do my job!” he exclaimed. “Plus, with a name like James, long hair just didn’t suit you – you need a proper short haircut” he smirked.

Ice ran through James’ veins. She couldn’t believe she trusted this man, no matter how handsome. This man who decided to cut off all of her previous hair because of her name??!! She was livid. At the same time, a thrill of excitement ran through her body – something about this sexy man chopping off her hair against her will really turned her on. And she thought that somehow, Clark could tell.

“How dare you” James yelled at Clark, wiping away her tears “What am I supposed to do now?!” she gestured at her limp bob angrily.

“Calm down James,” Clark whispered in her ear. Something about seeing her this mad – a little firecracker – was really turning him on. “I’m not even done with your haircut yet” he teased, reaching for his clippers. “However, if you really don’t want me to finish, you can leave now,” he said, gesturing to the door. “You’re free to go. But I think that we both know you want me to keep going” he uttered, his hot breath on her now bare neck.

James shivered. “Get up James just get up” she told herself. But for some reason, she couldn’t get out of the chair. She wanted – needed – Clark to finish her haircut, to forcefully shear her with his clippers. She couldn’t explain it – she would do anything to submit to him. To submit her hair to him.

Clark waited 10 seconds, 30 seconds, 1 minute. When it became clear that she was staying, he smiled in amusement. “That’s what I thought”. Clark ran his fingers about an inch above her ears, gathering all of the hair over that length up and clipping it on the top of her head. 

“Now for the fun part” he picked up a guard and slid it on his clippers. “This is a number 2.” James had no idea what a number 2 meant but it sounded short.

Clark put his large hand on the back of her neck. “Head down” he ordered, more roughly this time, not waiting for her to respond as he forced her chin down to her chest, turning on the clippers. 

Pop Bzzzzzzzz the clippers whirred to life as Clark placed them at the base of James’ nape. He held them there just for a moment in anticipation – he was now rock hard. He knew that James was feeling the same way. Then, without another word, he mowed the clippers up the back of her nape, stopping only when he got to the clipped up hair, leaving behind nothing but the faintest of light stubble. With a flick of his wrist he mercilessly sent the remaining four or five inches of hair flying down the cape, sliding down to the floor.

Bzzzzzzzz Clark continued to shear off the remainder of the back and sides of James’ hair, one pass of the clippers at a time, down to ¼ of an inch. Clumps of blonde hair stuck to the cape. Clark bent one of her ears, then the other, running the clippers carefully around them to make sure that all of her nape was uniformly buzzed. James’ hair was so light that he could see her scalp through her buzzed hair.

Clark then swapped the number two guard for a number one guard and repeated the process, this time stopping a little lower, not going up as high as he had with the number 2 guard. Tiny particles of fuzzy hair floated in the air as the clippers reduced her barely there stubble even shorter. 

Bzzzzzzz Clark buzzed in silence, the clippers easily moving through James’ now sheared scalp. He was so turned on now that he had to work hard to control his every movement. James was equally turned on – she was barely breathing, her body quivering under Clark’s control. 

Clark then took off the guard completely and returned to again further reduce the bottom half of James’ nape to nothing. Bzzzzzzz When he was finally satisfied with his work, he switched off the clippers. “Bald fade” he informed her.

“Bald” the word rang in James’ head, causing her to tear up again. How had she come into this barbershop with waist length hair and she was leaving bald? She wondered if Clark would leave her with any hair at all.

Clark unclipped the hair left on the top of her head – the only hair she had left – and quickly combed through the jaw length locks. Just minutes ago they had seemed so short and now they seemed incredibly long in comparison to her shorn nape.

“Hmm…” Clark wondered with a twinkle in his eye “Should we take the top down as short as the sides?”

“Please no,” James whispered. If Clark took the clippers to the top of her head she would look like a boy. 

Clark hesitated, then popped on the number 8 guard on the clippers. “Don’t worry James, I’ll leave you with some hair” he promised as he turned the clippers on again and placed them at her forehead this time, meeting her eyes in the mirror. He wanted to make sure she was watching as he took the last of her length. 

Bzzzzz James met his ruthless blue eyes in the mirror and gasped in a combination of pain and pleasure as Clark ran the clippers straight down the middle, leaving just an inch of fluffy blonde hair behind. One pass, two passes, three – Clark ruthlessly sheared off her final locks, leaving behind just an inch of blonde hair on the top of her head, a sharp contrast to the bald fade he left her with on the back and sides.

Clark turned off the clippers and smiled, pleased with his work. Mountains of blonde hair littered the cape, the floor. “There” Clark ruffled the inch or so of hair she had left. “A haircut suited for a James” he mocked her, removing her cape and the tissue paper from her neck.

James stared at herself in the mirror in shock – without makeup on, with this brutally short haircut, she realised that she could easily be mistaken as a boy now, just as she had when she was younger. All her Rapunzel hair, gone. It would take her a lifetime to grow it back. She teared up and got up to leave when Clark stopped her. “Hey” he said, tugging on her wrist. “Still up for that dinner date I hope” he leaned down to give her a passionate kiss. James kissed him back desperately, surprised he still wanted to go out with her when she had no hair. Her head felt a thousand pounds lighter and she had to admit – it felt good. She stroked the back of her neck, shivering at the new feeling. 

“Oh, and” Clark looked at her sharply as he led her out the barbershop. “I expect you back here in one week to keep this haircut of yours looking nice and neat”. James shivered and nodded obediently. She guessed she would be keeping her short hair – after all, it suited her.

+60