Sunday Reset

Trying something new, I wrote this story mostly manually. Used AI to help with some brainstorming and correction. I then generated some images to add to it. Fair warning, the story get quite explicit. Let me know what you think!

**

Julian had to step out after we had ordered our food. He needed to park the car somewhere appropriate, he had parked it in a loading zone because we were running late.

This finally gave me a chance to relax for a minute. Habits kicked in, I took a sip of coffee, unlocked my phone and went to tuck my hair behind my ear. Of course, there was nothing there, I was met with velvety fuzz instead. I initially recoiled in anguish. God, I had actually done it. Why did I go through with buzzing my hair off? I could sense all my insecurities flaring. Instead of letting this feeling take over, I let my hand explore the new sensation. The rush of anxiety passed as quickly as it had come. I could feel a smirk tracing on my lips. This felt right, doing things on my terms always felt right.

I pulled up the camera app. Again with the ebb and flow of emotions as I looked at my reflection. It felt like I was looking at a stranger. But it was the kind of girl I’d want to hang out with. Unapologetically herself. As I gazed from different angles, I didn’t just feel edgy and cool, I was actually attractive. Some kind of new raw sexiness I had never found in myself.

I took a selfie and shared it with my girlfriend’s group. Mostly friends from the college days. “Took a bit off the top ;).”

I then pulled up the conversation with my stylist Taylor. I looked at the conversation we were previously having over the last two months. It started with pictures I had sent her to repost of the cute shag I’ve been rocking.

It was kind of tame compared to the cuts Taylor usually gave me, but I had liked it. The following messages were planning for my cut next week.
“Maxine, over the years, I’ve given you every color of the rainbow, every edgy trendy cut. You have to try going short at least once, I know you’ll rock the look.”

The following set of inspiration images she had sent were definitely Taylor approved. It started with a blunt bob so short the nape was buzzed, a cute teeny cropped pixie dyed peroxide blonde and a cut I would best describe as a cool girl bowlcut with the sides smoothly taper buzzed. I had thought about how I’d style each one. The bob could be fun for fall goth looks, the modern bowlcut could work with my 60s mod style pieces, the pixie would probably be the most versatile. I had always craved change, I loved to break expectations. But deep inside, I was worried that between my tattoos, my petite physique and eclectic wardrobe I’d look too masculine or like just too much of a weirdo.

I had shown Julian. Of course his eyes had lit up. He had told me he had a thing for short haired women. I had always suspected it was a bit more than that. For him, it was between the bob and the pixie.

My style was bold but I had always felt like long hair was the one thing that connected me to a sense of fitting in and femininity.

Seeing my lukewarm reaction, the last image Taylor had sent me was a cute shag mullet to ease me into short hair. Basically my current cut, just extra short. That had felt like something I could do.

I texted Taylor the selfie as well. “After 10 years, hopefully this doesn’t feel like betrayal, but I have a feeling you’ll appreciate it.”

Julian texted me, there was an event blocking on street parking, he’d need a bit more time. The waiter refilled my coffee and I told them to hold our plates for a bit. I took a minute to take the city in, the lovely smell from the cafe cooking up brunch, the sounds. The air on my scalp was a new one.

The friend group started blowing up.

Maya: Holy shit, I could never pull this off. You look so hot!
Claire: That’s the fearless Maxine I know! And of course you look amazing.

As I was thinking back to what led up to having my hair this morning, Claire had somehow been the catalyst.

**

It had all started at Maya’s birthday dinner. Claire has been one of my oldest college friends. We were polar opposites but somehow the best of friends. Where I was the bold one, had studied set design and was always up to something. Claire was the grounded one, had studied finance and her style had always been crisp, traditional, and hopelessly safe. She had walked into the restaurant with a bold slicked back pixie cut. I was shocked. In Claire fashion, it was tailored and professional, but the sides were neatly buzzed giving it some edge. Claire had beamed, telling everyone that Maxine’s “fearless, unapologetic style” had given her the courage to do it.

Julian and I talked about the cut on our way back. Julian noting how it showed her in a new light.

Still in the car, I’d been in a pensive mood, scrolling through my own history of selfies and hairstyles. I love my clothing collection; it stands out, running across a whole gamut of styles, and Taylor had always made sure my ever-changing hair remained the centerpiece. My pin-up era with Bettie micro-bangs. Taylor talked me into dying a bold yellow (not blonde!). For a while, I’d kept classic wavy lengths and let the colors get the attention with a blonde/brunette split dye right down the middle. I’d also loved the iridescent teal mermaid look.

As I kept scrolling through the years, I came across my indie rock phase where I had a natural-colored bob with a sidecut. In this whole gallery of wild hairstyles, that one was actually quite tame, but to me, it was my boldest.

I already knew this, but Claire getting a pixie had cemented it for me: out of everything, short hair was oddly scary. I took pride in my unique look and loved the expression it provided me, but somehow, keeping my hair long felt like it allowed me to remain feminine (for all the little I cared about that concept) and not completely outside the norm. Did short-haired girls with tattoos look kind of butch? Did short-haired girls with bold clothing just look like they’re trying too hard? As much as I was never one to try to fit in, this was the one area where I didn’t allow myself to step outside the box I’d made, or what I thought people around me expected me to be. Claire had even told me I’d been her inspiration with my boldness, yet here I was, keeping myself from all those cool short hairstyles.

That night, as I was brushing my hair before going to bed, I took a good look in the mirror. I felt it before I could put words to it—that same tingly mix of excitement and uncertainty as every time I’d sit down for a new tattoo, or when Taylor bleached my hair, or when I walked into a room with an outfit just a bit too loud. I pulled up Taylor’s inspiration images and just grinned. When Julian asked what was up, I brushed a finger along his sharp jaw and kissed him. “I love to drive you mad.” I was riding this wave of newfound resolve to just be myself.

Not one to let an opportunity pass by, Julian grabbed me by the hips as we kissed more intensely, and we made our way to the bedroom. Unlike our usual slow and tender rhythm, I knew what I wanted and was driving the show. After fooling around for a while, I sat on the edge of the bed and had him on the floor, on his knees patiently eating me out before I’d let him come. I even surprised myself—grabbing him by his hair and teasingly asking what he’d do to see me with short hair. The way he picked up the pace was a good enough answer.

I’d been riding that wave for the whole week, regularly pulling up the inspiration images Taylor had sent me. As much as the short mullet/shag had grown on me, I was starting to warm up to the other cuts as well, almost daily flipping which one I wanted. Heck, I was kind of curious of the bowlcut!? At this rate, I’d need to let Taylor pick, which I knew was both a good and a terrible idea.

I had a late start at work on Thursday morning and took my time getting ready. Pulling up the inspo images again, I looked in the mirror from different angles, trying to imagine what they would be like and using my hands to place my hair like those different cuts. I mindlessly swept my bangs back and flattened them with my hand on top of my head, and that tingly feeling came over me again. Initially, I chuckled at the idea of buzzing my hair, but as I kept looking in the mirror, my stomach tightened because deep down, I knew I was actually considering it.

I pulled up my phone and started looking up buzzcut inspiration instead. Fifteen minutes must have flown by without me realizing. I’d initially thought this cut was only about being bold, but the more I looked at these women, the more I thought they actually looked good and were absolutely able to make the look work.

Fuck… I quietly muttered to myself, looking back in the mirror. I was partly proud of myself for even considering it. I would be facing my fear head-on, my boyfriend would be over the moon (not that I was doing it for him), and the more I thought about it, the more I realized I might actually like it. But I hated myself at the same time—why do I have to keep coming up with these crazy ideas?

The next few days were a bit of a blur, busy at work, but the buzzcut kept coming back to my mind. From the obvious questions like would I actually look good? what would others say? what would my mom say? would girls start hitting on me? to the less obvious ones like would I be cold? how would I do it? and what would it feel like?

As I imagined different ways of getting it cut and tried to picture what it would feel like, one thing was becoming obvious to me. The short shag had already started to feel like a compromise. But now, every hairstyle Taylor had sent me felt like settling. The anxiety didn’t go away, but the resolve and excitement were slowly taking over.

Taylor messaged me back:
“I’M SCREAMING IN THE SALON! Appreciate it? Babe, you look like a fucking bombshell!”
“No betrayal here, if anything I’m a bit proud to have a client so bold.”
“Just tell me you didn’t get another stylist to do this! I’d be jealous”

I laughed, she was always a bit bigger than life. I replied:
“I think your job is safe, Julian did the cut. We could look into coloring it at some point!”

“My bleach bowl is ready when you are.”

I had thought of getting Taylor to buzz it. But it felt like something too intimate to just have happen on a salon chair.

**

Just this morning. I was out in the garden planting. June was starting to show her heat. My curly shag would be like wearing a winter hat all summer long. As I wiped my sweaty forehead, I knew this hair was coming off. I had already known the hair was coming off, I just hadn’t known when. This was the perfect lazy Sunday, the only thing on the program was a late brunch at 1PM.

I stepped inside, Julian handed me a cup of coffee and asked me if there was anything I wanted to do this morning.

I took a sip of coffee, a deep breath, gained my composure and said “This morning we’re shaving my hair.” As I ran my hand through it.

He was dumbfounded. His face going through a range of emotions. We had had a few more chats about short hair and what Taylor had sent over. But I had kept this buzzcut idea for myself.

I was likely flushed red, my knees were weak but I was so excited this was actually happening! I wanted to reply before he could make me second guess. But seeing his reaction got me in a playful mood. “You’ll be doing it.” Pausing for effect. “We’ll start with buzzing the back and leave only the bangs. Like those punk chicks in the 80s then shave the whole thing off!” I chuckled.

“Wow, ok…” was all he could mutter. As he followed me to the bathroom.

I rummaged to find the clippers. Snapped on the red #1 guard. From the women I had seen do it, this was going to be super short. That was scary, but I wasn’t going through all this just to settle. I had already checked the battery was charged earlier this week. I turned around to hand them to Julian. He was standing in the doorway not sure what to do with himself.

“Alright, so I’m thinking, you sit on the edge of the bathtub and I’ll sit on the ground.”
“Ok.”

We awkwardly got in place. His legs hugged around my body which was quite securing. I kept talking, this was my way to deal with my mind going 100 miles per hour.

“Alright I’m sectioning the front part.”
“You’ll start by shaving the back half. haha”
“OMG, I can’t believe I’m actually going through with this.”
“Then we’ll pause to check it out before buzzing it all off!”
“Before you ask, no I’m not sure. But fuck it we’re doing it. I hope this is short enough for you.”
In truth, I wasn’t doing it for him. But knowing the most important person in my life would not just accept it but actually embrace it was part of the validation I needed.

Julian had come to his senses and was back to his attentive self. In an even calming voice he said “Babe, you’re crazy and I love you for it.” The clippers turned on with a loud pop. My heart was still racing, but my mind finally settled, this was happening. He knew better than to ask me if I was ready. I heard the clippers approach my left ear. The noise turning into a gentle hum against my head as they made contact. Slowly dropping in pitch as it effortlessly clipped my hair as Julian pushed the machine up. I sat dead still, like a statue between his knees. I felt a strand freeing itself and cascading to my shoulder and then to the ground.

Julian, trying to ease the tension. “I knew you were up to something when I saw you pacing around the garden for a good 20 minutes.”

He had reached the top of my head and was now starting from the other side.

“Am I that obvious?”

“Yeah kinda. Then again, we’re here shaving your head on a random Sunday morning. So maybe not.”

That quickly brought me back to what was happening. I inhaled sharply.

Seeing my reaction “We both know you’ll look amazing. Selfishly, I hope this is one style you keep for a while! Whenever you’d change your hair people would comment on how good it would make you look, your eyes, your delicate features. This is a chance to make it about you. I don’t know what it’s like to be a woman shaving her hair, but I’m guessing it’s supposed to make your heart race. If it didn’t scare you a little bit, it wouldn’t feel this good when it’s done.”

“So I am that obvious.” I said, not resigned, actually relieved that what I was doing felt true to my nature. “Do you know how much of a pain in the ass I am to keep coming up with these crazy ideas?”

I walked right into that one. Julian laughed. “Actually I do. But I wouldn’t change it for the world.”

We both relaxed.

“Alright, I finished the tricky bit and kept a pretty straight line at your bangs. Now I just need to run this all over the back.”

Julian’s pace picked up. The steady passes of the vibrating machine on my head had me in a bit of a trance with their oddly tingly and relaxing feeling. It put me further at ease with the growing pile of hair around me.

Taking a pause “I’ll need your head down while I do the nape. I’ll pop the guard off to get tiny hairs at the bottom.” he said softly as he put one hand on the top of my head and guided it down.

Besides the pile of hair around me, this was the first true indication my hair was being shaved. I didn’t have a mirror in front of me. And even then only the back was gone. But Julian’s hand felt like another new sensation. Sure I had a taste of it when I got a small sidecut years ago, but it was nothing like this. I first felt the soft brushy texture of my hair and now could feel the warmth of Julian’s hand. With his legs hugging me. This was an incredibly intimate moment with my man caring for me in a way I would have never expected.

Soon enough I could feel Julian starting to get up. “You know, from my perspective, I don’t really see what you look like either.”

I got up as well. Straight in front of the mirror, it was as almost though nothing had changed. I could almost feel Julian grinning behind me. I reached up to feel the back of my head. It was even more tingly when it was my hand. I mustered the courage to finally tilt my head and look at the damage. I was dumbfounded for a second. Coming to the realization we had well and truly shaved half my head. My gaze went back to the remaining hair at the front.

My only reaction was to start laughing. “Ok, this is cool.” As I rubbed the back more vigorously to indicate the buzzed half. “But this is crazy.” I said laughing harder as I pointed to the bangs.

Julian joined in laughing with me. He said in what I can only guess to be a punk London accent “Have you heard the latest Clash record?”

“Oh gosh, is it out already?” I replied in the same accent.

We fooled around for a few more moments before I said “Alright, I’m glad some girls can rock this, but it’s not for me. Hand me the clippers so I can get out of my misery.”

I couldn’t turn them on quickly enough and started making quick work of what was left. Anticipation built as I peeled away my bangs. Soon enough, nothing was left.

I took a deep breath. “This is it.” I said softly while exhaling. Staring back at my reflection, I had never looked so vulnerable yet I had never looked so powerful. All the questions about whether I’d look too much this or that way felt irrelevant. All that was left was me, front and centre.

After giving me a moment, Julian wrapped his arms around me, hugging me from behind. Gently letting a soft “damn.”

I met his gaze in the mirror and flashed him a grin. “Damn you drive me mad” he replied.

We both started laughing. I couldn’t take my eyes off my reflection in the mirror. The sense of accomplishment was intoxicating. I started dancing and mock-posing for myself. I regularly liked the looks I’d put together. But this was something else. I didn’t just feel cute, I felt hot.

“Who is this bald babe?” I jokingly shouted.

Julian grabbed me and nuzzled his face at my now bare tingly neck. I could feel his beard and warm breath as he said “You’ll have to introduce me sometime.”

I turned around and kissed him once. His hand moved from the base of my neck slowly up my nape to finally rest at the back of my head. This new feeling was electric. We leaned in for a long passionate kiss.

“God that’s hot. Tell you what, I’ll get in the shower, get all these tiny hair off and meet you back in the bedroom.”

“Ok, I’ll get things ready. Just don’t take too long drying your hair.” Julian responded in a wink as he slowly let me go.

“Really funny.” I muttered.

I turned on the shower. I took my short coveralls or romper, or what ever you call these things off. Gave them a good shake to get as much hair off as I could. I couldn’t take my eyes off my reflection. I somehow felt more naked than usual. I managed to get my eyes off my head and looked at the rest of my body. I gave my perky little breasts a jiggle. Felt my nipples get harder and it wasn’t the cold air. Ran my hands down to my very modest waist, before spinning a bit to take a look at my cute little butt. I never had the body of a Venus, but I had come to terms with what femininity meant to me. Looking at my reflection, it was pretty obvious long hair wasn’t a requirement either. I felt desirable just the way I was. Heck, if anything, I felt sexier. My facial features were front and centre, my neck looked longer, but most of all I looked and felt badass and that accounted for a lot. I chuckled, snapping out of my thoughts. I guess there was one thing. My pubic hair was now a bit longer than my hair, I’d need to take care of that in the shower.

By that time, the shower was steaming. I walked in. First getting the hairs off my legs and arms. I finally put my head in the stream. I had read many women saying this was an experience. And it absolutely was. It was tingly, warm, relaxing and electric all at the same time. I took my time rubbing my head with my hands to get the clippings out, giving me a chance to further enjoy the sensation.

I then turned attention to my pubes. They weren’t out of control long. It just felt weird that it was longer than my hair. I placed the #1 guard back on the clippers. Yes the rug was going to match the drapes. I literally laughed to myself imagining this was some kind of article in a women’s fashion magazine:

Style Sync: Curtains Matching the Drape is the New Belt Matching the Bag.
“We break down why matching your lower half to your head shave isn’t just about grooming—it’s the modern equivalent of a perfectly coordinated outfit.”

I left a little patch at #1 on top and neatly trimmed the rest. This was usually Julian’s cue to linger there with his tongue.

Julian half opened the bathroom door as I was getting out of the shower. I was still chuckling.

“All good?” he asked.

I then told him what I had just thought of.

He gave a small chuckle and went back to a serious face.

“You’re going to hate me, but I messed up the reservation for brunch. It’s at 11AM, not 1PM.”

“And what time is it now?” I protested

“We’ve got 20mins. If you can get ready in like 10, we can make it.”

“Ok, sure, whatever.” I responded. Annoyed.

“Thanks babe, I’ll get the car ready.” He said as his voice trailed off in the corridor.

I quickly got off the high I had been all morning and was suddenly hit by reality. I took a towel and dried myself off. I then got to my head, not too sure how this was going to work out. The tiny hairs sort of grabbed a little bit on the towel, but after just a couple passes it was entirely dry. “Damn, I could get used to this. Maybe I have a shot at looking presentable in 10 minutes.” I thought to myself.

I took the towel to remove the steam from the mirror. And my big round bald head was facing me. I took a deep breath. After a couple seconds, I managed to relax. I didn’t look bad, but this was my first time seeing my new buzzed head without makeup. I thought I’d have a chance to get used to it before stepping out into the world, but here we were.

I quickly took to applying my sort of standard makeup with wing tipped eyes, a bit of concealer. I went into the bedroom to go into my closet. I picked up my phone. Fuck, only 5 minutes left. I didn’t have time to hew and haw about an outfit to debut this look. I knew the denim short coveralls from earlier mostly worked so that’s what I was going to be sticking to. I put a white tank top under to at least make it presentable.

I hurried back to the bathroom. Looked into the mirror. It wasn’t bad but it played with my insecurities. Part of me thought I looked like a teenage farm boy. The solution came to me as quickly as the insecurities had. Accessorize! I applied a generous layer of red lipstick, put on my cat eye sunglasses, earrings and a cute silk neck scarf.

I stepped back from the mirror. “Yeah that’ll do.” I thought to myself, finding some of that poise from earlier.

Julian walking back in and doing a double take before flashing me a smile was just what I needed to validate.

**

I snapped back out of reverie as Julian sat back down. The rest of brunch was a bit of a breeze. I don’t even remember what I ate. We didn’t linger at the restaurant and made our way back home.

I asked Julian to sit on our lounge chair together. It was obvious what was going to happen next. But this morning had been a whirlwind, I needed a minute to settle. I sat on him. We talked about nothing in particular. We caught our gaze on the mirror across the room.

We both let the moment linger before Julian piped up. “You know you make a pretty cute baldie?”

I took a second to think of a clever reply. In mock consternation: “A cute baldie!?” “Seeing the way you’ve been looking at me all morning, I think there’s a bit more to your “Oh I like women with short hair because it shows confidence” spiel”.

I saw his face get gradually redder. After a moment and seeing we were both in a vulnerable moment he replied from the heart. “Alright. Guilty as charged. Yes I genuinely love the look and the confidence of women that wear it.  Also, the anticipation of a major makeover, the exposed neck, the tactile feeling of buzzed hair has always been a huge turn-on I can’t explain. But seeing my girl take clippers to her head and come out of the bathroom this fierce, beautiful, and completely herself has been intoxicating. I had butterflies in my stomach like on our first dates.”

In a way, I felt relieved this was now in the open “That’s… actually really sweet, Julian.”

We locked eyes for a second. “Well, I’m just glad you don’t think I’m revolting because of it or anything.”

“Oh I’ll still have you tell me everything about this hair kink of yours.” With a mock wink. “That does change one thing though. I guess I’m no longer the only crazy one in this relationship.”

We both laughed as the tension eased. I got off from him and leaned in to kiss him while he was still seated. We made our way to the bedroom as anticipation built. We kissed more intensely and shed most of our clothing by the time we made it to the bed.

Not looking to rush the moment, Julian sat behind me, his arms around me as he nuzzled his face behind my ear kissing me softly. I could feel the stubble of his beard against the stubble of my hair. Slowly, he took one of my hands into his hands and guided it to my head. First laying my palm on my forehead, it felt electric as he guided my hand backwards slowly brushing past the tiny bristles on the top of my head. With his own hand, he then brushed my fingers slowly around my ears and let them linger at my nape.

I could feel the warmth of his breath as he asked “How does that feel, baldie?”

I had been in the moment but this made me take notice of just how good it felt. The mix of new sensations along the familiar security of having my man around me and equally turned on by this whole experience. “Incredibly sexy. Actually, you make me feel incredibly sexy.”

It was my turn to take his hand and guide it. First by giving it a cheeky nibble, then guiding it down my neck, letting him linger at my breasts before leading him further down. He would have gone straight for it, but I was the one driving, I had him trace with his fingers from my stomach in a circular motion to my thighs. Teasing the edges before bringing his fingers back up to rest squarely over the little patch I had trimmed earlier.

“See?” I murmured, tilting my head back against his shoulder. “Just as neat down here as up top.”

I could feel how hard his heart was beating in this chest. “Max, you have no idea how hot you are right now.”

I let go of his hand and let him explore. I took my other hand and started gently playing with the hair at the back of his head. “Oh I have a pretty good idea.” I then grabbed a fistful of his hair to guide his jaw against the stubble on my head. “You like to keep the curly locks of a prince but your brain melts the second I show up looking ready for bootcamp.”

“Something like that.” He answered sheepishly. I had had my fun, I had teased him enough and he had been patient. I eased my grip, we both started to laugh as I turned around. He was rarely this hard. I chuckled and gave him a sly smile as I started stroking him. “I’m glad I never bothered with lingerie knowing this was all it took.” I then went in with my mouth. I was having fun with this, seeing how turned on he was. It wasn’t long before I started hearing him moan. I wanted this to keep going. “It’s your turn now.”

He reached up to kiss me. Grabbing me by the hips. He then proceeded to kiss me further down, making a stop at my breasts before pulling me on top of him. As Julian eased into a rhythm, I moaned as I told him how good a job he was doing. I reached for my breast and realized it wasn’t just Julian that was turned on, the ups and downs of stress and awe of the morning. I had never felt sexy quite like this. My hands made their way to my head. Brushing the tiny bristles felt equally electric and soothing, I felt both fierce and deeply sexy. I moaned harder. Only my hair was gone but it felt like I was rediscovering my body.

Sensing I was also on the verge of coming, Julian paused. The pressure was building and I was so ready! I kissed him passionately, spread my legs and practically forced him on to me. I could see he was on the verge as well. I guided him in. He felt so hard and warm inside of me. Both of us got loud, that’s not usually our thing but everything was overwhelming. I matched his rhythm to feel him even deeper. We didn’t last long, but all the sensations, especially the ending felt so intense.

We were exhausted, we just laid there for a few minute. First with our eyes closed and then just looking at each other. Coming to my senses, I somehow had to break the moment. “I hope the windows were closed.” We laughed.

We took it easy for the rest of the afternoon. I played around with different outfits. I initially just took the selfies for me to look at how the different looks worked with my new hair. But I figured I needed to post on social. Somehow easier to make a big deal out of it now than to have a “big reveal” every time I ran into someone I knew.

“Took the Sunday reset a bit too far.

Julian said I was crazy but he was still the one holding the clippers.”

I didn’t feel like going into detail of why and how it made me feel. I was still figuring that out. But so far day one has been great.