Hudson and Darcie had been dating for nearly 3 years and were finally about to embark on their first hiking trip. Hudson had only been bugging Darcie about joining him on a long hike since their very first date.
“I am so not the outdoorsy type,” Darcie would reply to Hudson’s relentless begging.
“You don’t have to be,” Hudson would always reply. “Spending time out in nature means so much to me — I just want to share my love of the outdoors with you.”
After almost 3 years of taking trips to Darcie’s preferred vacation locales — tropical islands, blissful spa resorts, and big cities — Hudson had finally guilted her into taking on a two-month-long section hike of the Pacific Crest Trail. He had sneakily been warming her up to the idea of a long hike by showing her nature documentaries and shopping with her at outdoor supply stores. It was the Reese Witherspoon helmed film Wild that sold her. Hudson and Darcie decided to start their journey in July.
The night before they were due to fly out to start their hike, Darcie was restless as she tried to fall asleep. “Hey Hud…. Hud.. Are you up?”
Hudson, who had been dead asleep and enjoying his final nights rest on a real mattress groggily replied “I am now babe, what’s up?”
“Hud… how on earth am I going to survive on the trail without being able to shower?! I mean I can handle being sweaty and stinky, but my hair is going to be awful without being able to wash, dry and style it every day!” Darcie lamented.
“Babe, it’ll be okay. We’ve got the maps downloaded on our phones, we know where the water is. We’ll be able to rinse off every few days. It’ll be fine. And when we have to stop into town for resupply we’ll stay at hotels and can shower then. Besides, no one is going to be there to see you and no one hiking the trail gives a damn about messy hair,” Hudson replied. “Shower or no shower you know you’re gorgeous.”
“Alright,” Darcie said with a yawn. Hudson had managed to calm her last-minute nerves so that she could finally rest.
A few moments later Hudson joked “Babe, you know that some women cut their hair really short before they go hiking? That way they don’t have to fuss with it at all.”
Darcie laughed as she turned onto her side to sleep “Hud you are insane if you think I’m going to cut my hair just for your hike.” Darcie had long chestnut hair that reached her bra strap and had not changed her hairstyle ever since meeting Hudson. There was no way she would ever do something so drastic, especially just for a trip.
Two days later Darcie and Hudson were in the backseat of a pickup truck being driven out to the start of their portion of the trail. “Hottest July on record,” mumbled their driver. “Is miss prissie going to be able to survive the heat?” He chuckled.
“I’m much more capable than I look,” Darcie retorted, crossing her arms.
“We’ll be just fine,” Hudson added, draping his arm around Darcie as they took in the scenery through the truck’s dusty windows.
A few minutes later, the truck came to an abrupt stop at a large trail marker. “Well folks, this is where I send you on your way and wish you the best of luck.”
“Thanks so much for dropping us off all the way out here,” Hudson said as he shook the driver’s hand. Hudson and Darcie grabbed their things and started off on the trail.
The truck driver was right – the heat was brutal. Hudson and Darcie were soaked in sweat as they hiked their first ten miles before choosing camp for the night. The heat didn’t even let up overnight. “My hair is still as soaked from sweat as it was when I went to sleep last night. That’s messed up,” Darcie commented.
“Don’t forget what I told you the night before we got here – we can hitchhike into town and get you that short haircut, no problem!” Hudson joked.
“Ha ha ha, funny,” Darcie landed a playful punch on Hudson’s shoulder.
“Babe, I know we’re joking, but you’d look seriously sexy with short hair. Like sexy and badass like Charlize Theron,” Hudson continued. “No pressure, just a possible solution.”
Darcie and Hudson continued the next 7 days walking about ten miles, each day seeming hotter than the one before. However, it was finally time for their first resupply stop in a small town near the trail. They had a hotel booked for the night and were looking forward to a shower, a good night’s rest, and some good food at a local restaurant. They arrived a little later than anticipated and by the time they arrived at the hotel and showered up, there was a long wait at the small town’s only restaurant open past 8pm.
“Let’s just grab a couple seats at the bar,” Hudson suggested when the hostess let them know the wait would be over an hour long. They ended up sitting next to another young couple who had started out on the trail a few weeks prior. Their names were Vince and Lex. Vince and Lex were three weeks into a four-month-long section hike and were sharing tips and tricks about the trail.
Lex and Darcie bonded over the difficulties of maintaining their hair on the trail. “Vince has just about convinced me to cut it all off,” Lex confessed.
Darcie’s eyes got wide with shock “Are you serious? Hud’s been suggesting that to me too. I could never! Your hair is so beautiful and long – you would seriously cut it off?!”
“We’re actually stopping by the general store to buy a set of clippers once we’re done here. We’re also stopping by the liquor store for some libations, so feel free to join us,” Lex offered.
“Oh yeah!” Vince chimed in, including Hudson on the main event of the evening. “You guys feel free to join us for drinks and haircuts in our room.”
“Great man, thanks!” Hudson quickly accepted the offer. “I think I’m due for a trim,” he said rubbing his hands over his already short buzzcut.
The two couples closed up their tabs, headed to the liquor store, and then to the general store to buy the clippers and shears. “Wow, so you’re really going to do this, huh?” Darcie smiled nervously at Lex.
“Hell yeah!” she replied, “We’ve got three more months out here. No way can I make it with this long hair weighing me down.”
The two couples made their way back to Lex and Vince’s room and started drinking. With some alcohol in their systems for the first time since starting out on the trail, Darcie and Hudson were feeling extra romantic, making out on the uncomfortable couch in the corner of the hotel room. By the time they looked up, Vince had been shaved completely bald by Lex. Lex was massaging his newly bald head.
Hudson looked at Darcie “Your turn baby, shave me down! But put on an attachment, I don’t want to be bare-headed like Vince over there. I need at least a little fuzz.”
Darcie didn’t really know what she was doing, as she had never used clippers before. She shrugged as she put on a #2 attachment. She planted a kiss on Hudson’s lips just before she sent the clippers down the middle of his head. Hudson’s hair was by no means long, but it wasn’t short either. It was about three inches long on top and shorter on the sides.
Darcie completely shaved his crown first and joked “Aw babe, this is what you’ll look like when you’re old and balding!” She rubbed the top of his head before taking the clippers along the sides and back. By the time she was done, Hudson’s hair was no longer than ⅛ of an inch.
“Wow this is already so much better, thanks babe.” Hudson said as he rubbed his hands over his newly shorn locks. “Are you jealous yet?” he asked with a knowing wink. Darcie glared at him, not wanting to reply.
Lex broke the awkward silence “Me next! Darcie since you did such a great job with Hudson you can style me next!”
“Alright.” Darcie replied. “I guess you can come sit over here. Do you guys have any scissors? I think I need to get rid of some of this length first.” Lex’s hair was strawberry blonde and just grazed her shoulders. Vince handed Darcie a pair of shears.
“Are you really sure you want to do this Lex? I mean, your hair is already pretty short compared to mine and you’re just going to be hiking a few more months. Once you get back to reality and your hair’s still short you might regret this.”
“Darcie I need this haircut so badly. Not being able to wash my hair on trail is torture and it just gets in the way while we trek. Go ahead and buzz it. I want it just as short as Hudson” Lex said with a coy grin.
Darcie put the shears in her hand and started gathering a tuft of Lex’s hair, pulling it taut. She put the scissors about one inch from Lex’s scalp and made the first cut. SCHINK. “Fuck that’s short!” Lex exclaimed, “Keep going!”
Darcie continued to cut Lex’s hair until it was all roughly 1 inch long, emphasis on rough as it looked like someone had been blindfolded while doing the cutting.
“Oh my god I look insane!” Lex exclaimed. “I love it! Hey babe, do we have any gel? I want to see how this hair looks with spikes!”
“Shit, we don’t have any.” Vince replied. “I’ll go down to that general store and see if I can find some – be back in a few.”
“Darcie, babe, feel my hair.” Lex implored Darcie. “No seriously – like feel it. It’s so much cooler and it feels arousing to touch.”
Darcie began rubbing her hands over Lex’s unevenly shorn locks and had to agree – it felt really good. She was so tempted to give in to the pressure.
“Now don’t feel pressured to do it or anything Darce, but I think Lex looks really cool and I think you would too.” Hudson said, still rubbing his own shorn locks. “We could be twins. Well, you know, hair twins at least.”
“God, I know that’s always been your dream, Hud. For me to have the same hair as you.” Darcie replied sarcastically.
“Hey if you don’t want to go this short, I don’t blame you Darcie,” Lex said. “But let’s at least take a little bit of length off so you’re more comfortable on the rest of your hike. How about we let that neck breathe a little, hmm?” She said with a smile.
Darcie was feeling pressured, but begrudgingly accepted the compromise. “Alright. You guys got me. Lex – I’ll trust you to give me a trim.” Darcie said as she sat down on the chair where everyone else had been shorn.
Lex wasted no time with the shears and cut 8 inches off of Darcie’s hair so that it ended just above her earlobe.
Darcie was shocked as she saw the hair fall to the ground and reached up to assess the damage. “Lex what the fuck? I thought you were going to give me a trim, just a few inches off the ends? This is crazy.”
Lex shrugged. “I did say let’s let your neck breathe a little didn’t I?” She glared over at Hudson who was giddy and grinning from ear to ear. “Hud seems to be enjoying this so far at least. Now calm down and let me do my work, you’ll look silly if it’s left like this.”
Lex pushed Darcie’s head down towards her chest and continued cutting. Unbeknownst to Darcie, as Lex continued cutting around, she also kept cutting up. Hudson gave a knowing nod to Lex, understanding that she was going for a bowl cut.
Once Lex was satisfied with the length she had taken off, she grabbed the electric clippers quietly as she could and locked eyes with Hudson, whose already wide grin managed to get even wider.
Lex placed the clippers near to one of Darcie’s ears, clicked them on, and swiftly pushed them into her hair just above her ear and shaved down.
Darcie shrieked and touched her hair. The same attachment that Darcie had just used on Hudson was now being used on her. “Oh. My. Fucking. Goodness.” She exclaimed. She knew it was too late to do anything. Hudson was practically drooling with excitement and Lex was totally in control of the situation.
“At least tell me what hairstyle you’re giving me Lex. I know I can’t stop you, but at least tell me what my endgame is here.” Darcie said with defeat.
“I’m giving you a cute bowl cut and Darcie you’re gonna look great. Trust me. I wouldn’t be doing this if I didn’t think it would suit you.” Lex put her hand (the one not currently wielding the clippers) on Darcie’s shoulder. “And just look how happy you’re making that guy,” She whispered in her ear. Hudson was struggling to contain himself, seeing the clippers used on Darcie.
“Fuck. Well just keep going alright? You know I still have to finish your hair once Vince comes back with that gel,” Darcie said, reluctantly ready to get back to the haircut that she once was dreading and now was coming to enjoy.
Lex flicked the clippers on once again and began taking them all the way around Darcie’s head so that all of her hair ended right above her ears. “You can take a look now, Darce, I’m all done.” Lex brushed as much of the stray hairs off of Darcie’s shoulders and Darcie went into the bathroom to assess the damage.
“Fuck this is short.” Darcie mumbled. Hudson came up behind her and embraced her in a hug. “Babe. You look so. Fucking. hot. Hotter that I could have ever imagined.” He started to rub the short velvety pelt of hair that went from her neck all the way around her head and above her ears.
Darcie was shocked at her reflection. How on earth did this happen? She wondered. At least Hudson loves it, she thought as she touched the soft buzzcut stretching from her nape to the top of her ears.
The door to the room suddenly opened, “I got the hair gel, babe — oh what the fuck?!” Vince was shocked to see Darcie’s transformation.
“Your girl tricked me,” Darcie explained. “She said she wanted to let my neck breathe a little. I was imagining a trim, but I somehow ended up here and I can’t say that I completely hate it.”
“Ah, so she used the let the neck breathe line on you, huh? Classic.” Vince said with a grin. “Well it looks hot, so don’t even worry about it Darcie.” He handed the gel over to Darcie.
“I still have time to fuck up Lex’s hair even more for revenge, so it’s all good. Or about as good as it could be in this moment with my bowl cut.” Darcie said with a menacing grin. “Come on, Lex, and return to the chair.”
Lex sat back down. “I’m all yours, Darcie. Fuck with my hair all you want.” She smiled and folded her hands in her lap.
Darcie started by opening the gel and generously squirting it onto Lex’s head. She used her hands to spread it through Lex’s inch-long locks, making them stick out in all directions. “What to do? What to do?” Darcie murmured, placing her gel-soaked hands on either side of Lex’s face.
Darcie grabbed the clippers, took off the attachment and placed them at Lex’s nape. Without warning, she drove them straight up the back of her head, stopping at her crown. “Lex, I was inspired to see your hair sticking straight up, so I think we’ll try for a military look – I’m thinking a flat top.”
Darcie continued her work with the attachment-less clippers all the way around Lex’s head until the only hair left was on top of her head. She grabbed a comb (thank goodness Vince didn’t need to run back to the general store for that) and began combing the hair on her crown straight up.
She looked down at Lex and asked “How short are we thinking for this flat top?”
Lex responded, “As short as you can make it since we’re out on the trail for 3 more months.”
Darcie nodded and ran the comb through the very front of Lex’s hair so that it rested ⅛ of an inch above her head. “One super-short busted flat top coming right up.”
Now Darcie had never shaved anyone’s head, given a haircut, much less a flat top before, so she felt this was bound to be a disaster. And it was. The flat top was patchy and some spots had managed to turn up completely bald, despite the use of the comb.
Lex was looking over the busted-up flat top in the mirror and made eye contact with Darcie. “I think you’re going to need to shave this all over. It’s too patchy.”
Darcie felt bad, she really had wanted to get Lex back after her bowl cut, but wasn’t planning on taking it this far. “I’m sorry, Lex. I really didn’t mean for it to get this short.”
“It’s okay,” Lex replied with a laugh. “I really don’t give a fuck. I end up buzzing my head anytime Vince and I go on long hikes, what’s another 1/8th of an inch anyway?”
Darcie took her time cleaning up her awful barbering on Lex until she was totally bald. Lex looked stunning.
“Oh my God, Darcie, I look fab! Do not even worry – we’re even. We both fucked up each other’s hair pretty bad, but I think we both look pretty hot and I think our men will agree.” Vince and Hudson nodded emphatically from the couch. At a certain point they had stopped talking and were just taking in the spectacle.
Darcie walked over to Hudson and whispered “Babe I feel so bad. Compared to Lex, my bowl cut is looking gorgeous – I feel guilty that I totally screwed up her hair.” Hudson cupped Darcie’s face in her hands “Darcie, don’t feel bad that you look like a total sexy badass with your bowl cut – it’s not your fault you pull off short hair so well.” He squeezed her cheeks into a frown and whispered “If you truly feel as guilty as you claim… let Lex have another shot at doing your hair.” He then planted a kiss square on her lips, flashed a mischievous grin and went to talk with Vince.
Darcie’s guilty conscience was wreaking havoc on her, she thought to herself – I cannot leave Lex and continue on a long hike as if I didn’t just fuck up someone’s beautiful hair! Darcie sat back down in the designated haircut seat and pulled a towel around her shoulders.
Lex wandered over to Darcie and asked “Just what do you think you’re doing sitting in that chair again? I thought I had traumatized you enough for one night!” “I feel bad for how badly I botched your haircut and I’m offering myself up to you again. This bowl cut is already out of my comfort zone, so go ahead and do your worst.” Darcie replied.
“Alright, if you insist,” Lex replied as she re-gathered the hair supplies. “First let’s do some gel, shall we?” Lex slathered some of the styling gel onto her hands and started spiking up Darcie’s hair. It looked ridiculous – only the hair on top of her head was long enough to spike. Darcie ended up looking like a soccer mom gone punk.
Lex picked up the clippers and Darcie inhaled sharply. “I’m not going to do what you think I’m going to,” Lex said, anticipating a protest from Darice. She placed the clippers on Darcie’s brow and shaved it off. Darcie’s jaw dropped. “I told you so!” said Lex with a grin as she shaved off the other brow.
Vince and Hudson looked up from their seemingly deep conversation about hiking, alerted by Darcie’s shriek. “Whoa babe, you look like a punk alien. A hot punk alien at that!” Hudson exclaimed. He planted a kiss on the former location of both of Darcie’s brows. “I think you guys are even now,” he grinned.
The two couples spent the rest of the night chatting with one another, exchanging emails, numbers, and social media accounts, promising to keep in touch and even to plan a hiking trip the following year. When they parted ways the next morning – Vince and Lex resuming their thru-hike and Hudson and Darcie headed in the opposite direction for the remainder of their section hike – they knew they would never forget that night.
Darcie was grateful that Lex had given her the bowl cut (the shaved eyebrows, she decided, were not quite her cup of tea). Lex was grateful that she had ended up with a shaved head because she and Vince were headed south, where it was unusually warm and humid – so the less hair the better. Lex was also grateful that Darcie had such a guilty conscience about Lex’s hair and that she was able to shave off her eyebrows.
If these four meet up again for another hike – who knows what’ll happen…