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THE HUSBAND

My wife (Shelly) and I have been married for just over three years. We are best friends and head over heals in love with each other. The only thing I would change about Shelly is her smoking. I don’t smoke and although I find it sexy at times, I don’t like the smoke smell in her clothes and hair all the time. I must admit she is very courteous when she smokes around me. We have talked about her quitting several times, but each time she backs out because she is afraid of putting on weight and frankly she enjoys it. When we make love I don’t like the smell of smoke in her hair as it falls gently around my face. Anyway back to my story.

We frequently take weekend trips to get away from the city. This past weekend we took a trip to a small town about 100 miles north of here to do some shopping and just relax. Saturday morning we were strolling around the town square doing some window shopping. We were walking down the street hand in hand enjoying the beautiful weather. Shelly took a last drag on her cigarette and slowly exhaled while dropping the cigarette to the ground and grinding it out with her shoe. I made an offhand comment about her smoking and the smell and left it at that. I know I shouldn’t have but today it just got to me.

We continued down the street until we were in front of a hobby shop. I walked over to the windows and began looking at all of the wonderful models and kits behind the glass. I was about to go in when I noticed the CLOSED sign on the door. Disappointed, I walked back out to the sidewalk only to find my wife had disappeared. I looked up and down the street to no avail. She must be in one of the shops just ahead, so I began walking up the street looking through the windows at each store. Sure enough, three doors down there she was standing in a shop. She was standing inside looking at me and then back at a woman sitting in a large chair, then at me and then the woman.

Then it hit me! She was standing in a barber shop!!! The name painted on the large front window was Bobbi’s Barber Shop. At the bottom of the window was painted “Haircuts $7”. Without saying a word the woman barber got up from the barber chair, picked up her cape and stood behind the chair. Shelly looked at me one last time and then slowly walked over and climbed up into the barber chair. I just stood there outside the shop. The barber looked at me momentarily and then reached in front of my wife with the cape and draped it around her. It slowly floated down around Shelly’s petite body. Before pinning the cape around her neck the barber tucked a piece of white tissue paper in her collar. I didn’t know what to say, so I just walked inside and sat down in a chair in front of my wife.

The barber turned to the counter behind her and grabbed a comb and began to comb out Shelly’s silky black hair. When she was finished her hair hung down and lay gently on her shoulders. Shelly just sat there. Not a word had been spoken as far as I could tell. The barber returned to the counter and picked up her scissors. Starting at the front she began to comb the hair towards the back of her head. After the third time she grasped the hair between her fingers and scissored off everything that protruded above her fingers. She had just cut off over a foot of my wife’s hair!!! She was cutting it SHORT!!! The barber repeated the process all the way back to the crown cutting everything the same length. She then moved to the left side and methodically cut off all the long hair. Hair was now everywhere. Most of the cut pieces were over a foot long. They still had a black silky shine as they lay lifelessly in her lap and on the floor. The barber methodically moved around to the back and right side cutting all of the hair to the same length.

There my wife sat shorn and smiling at me. Her remaining hair fell gently around her head just covering half her ears.

Pop! I hadn’t noticed the barber return to the counter and pull the electric clippers from under the counter. I had been mesmerized by Shelly’s new look. The pop had startled Shelly too. The barber turned around with the clippers in one hand and a comb in the other. She gently pushed Shelly’s head forward and without any hesitation plowed the clippers up the back of her head, slowly pulling them away the higher she went. She was well above the occipital bone when the clippers finished cutting. This motion was repeated four or five more times in the back. Shelly barely had any hair left. Wow this lady has taken my wife’s hair down to a short pelt that hardly covers up the back of her head.

Using the clippers and comb the barber cut the left and right sides in the same manner. The comb would disappear into the hair only to have the clippers uncover it in one simple pass. The look was similar to the back and all that was left was a short pelt. The hair at her hairline was totally cut away to nothing.

A smaller clipper was used to clearly define the hairline. The barber told Shelly to sit there while she momentarily excused herself to the back room. She returned in a couple of seconds with a curling iron. I hadn’t seen one of those in a barber shop before. The barber used the curling iron to curl the hair on top. When she finished she ran a brush through the curls to add body. Wow!!! The look was stunning. I had never thought about Shelly with short hair. She was stunning. I didn’t think she could get any more beautiful than she already was, boy was I wrong.

I got up out of the chair and walked up to the barber chair just as the cape was being unfastened and all the ringlets of hair slid to the waiting floor. Shelly climbed down from the chair and looked at me with those eyes and asked how I liked it. Unbelievable!!!!

THE WIFE

Mike and I are soul mates. He seems to know everything I need or want before I do. The moment I met him I knew we would be married. We enjoy taking short weekend trips to get away from the hustle and bustle of city life.

Last weekend we drove up to a small town with a gorgeous town square with lots of interesting stores to do some shopping. Early Saturday morning we were walking around the square doing some shopping. I had just finished a cigarette when Mike made one of his little comments about my smoking. They annoyed me a little, but I always try to see it from his perspective. Mike doesn’t smoke and he’s just trying to look out for my health. I have always enjoyed smoking. I have actually received compliments on how I smoke. I get told at least once a month that I look sexy when I smoke, even Mike has complimented me.

We had stopped in front of a hobby store (one of Mike’s favorites). Mike immediately walked over to look through the window. I saw the closed sign on the door and decided to walk to the next shop. As I got to the shop I noticed a barber pole a couple of doors down. I had never thought of it before, but Mike’s biggest complaint about me smoking was that it made my hair smell like smoke and he said it sometimes detracted from our love making when I would brush it across his face. The solution to my problem was only a few steps away.

I walked down to the barber shop and stood outside the doorway. The door was held open by a door stop. There weren’t any customers sitting inside and a female barber was sitting in one of two barber chairs. She was attractive, about 40 years old, had blond hair cut in a chin length bob with short bangs. I slowly walked into the shop and just stood there about halfway between the door and the barber chair. The barber lowered her magazine and looked at me. I turned to look out the door and a few seconds later Mike appeared out on the sidewalk. I had never seriously considered cutting my hair short before but the thought didn’t really bother me and I didn’t think Mike would mind. I looked back at the barber and she got up from the chair, grabbed a green and white striped cape and stood behind the chair. I looked back at Mike and then slowly
walked over and climbed into the barber chair. It was so big. The styling chairs at the salon I went to were doll furniture compared to this chair. I sat back in the chair and put my feet up on the worn metal footrest.

In slow motion the barber reached in front of me and swung the cape over me. I then felt her tuck something into my collar and fasten the cape snugly around my neck. As she finished securing the cape Mike walked into the barber shop and sat down in a chair across from me. You should have seen the look on his face. Total surprise could not accurately describe it. He just sat there. I expected him to get up and walk over to me or at least say something, but he didn’t.

The barber was combing out my hair. I had no idea how I wanted it cut. I knew the barber would have some suggestions so I decided to see what she recommended. It felt good as she combed my hair. Mike would frequently brush my hair after we showered. I loved to be pampered like that. The barber stopped combing for a few seconds and then returned and began combing my hair from front to back. I was really enjoying this especially the look that was still on Mike’s face.

A moment later I felt the barber grab my hair and heard a long schnnnick. Immediately, long strands of hair began falling in front of my face and sliding in to my lap. My mind raced. I wanted her to stop to discuss the haircut but I didn’t want Mike to know I was surprised. She was combing my hair again. Soon more long strands of hair were falling into my lap. I looked at Mike for some indication of what she was doing (there was no mirror in front of me. He still sat there in a trance with a smile on his face. Okay, it couldn’t be bad. Another shnick, more hair fell into my lap. The barber obviously had a haircut in mind when I sat down in the chair. Mike was smiling, I decided the barber knew what she was doing and I was just going to enjoy the experience. I could tell by the amount of hair in my lap that she was definitely cutting it short and that is what I had wanted.

She quickly moved back over the top of my head. Each schnnnik sent more of my hair to the floor. Once she finished the top she moved to my left side and began cutting that hair off. She worked her way around the back of my head to the right side. I had no idea how short my hair was, I could just feel her grab each lock and then hear the scissors cut it off. In no time at all she had finished my haircut. Mike looked very happy which meant I would be happy.

Pop!!! The sound came from behind me. The air was filled with a low hum. I had not a clue what made it. I must have jumped because Mike was chuckling to himself. The sensations to follow I will never forget. Everything seemed to be in slow motion. I felt the barber’s hand on the top of my head. She gently pushed my head forward towards my chest. The humming grew louder and I knew it was close to the back of my head.

I have heard this sound before. Where…? In the salon, it was hair clippers, they used them to cut short hairstyles and now the barber was about to used them on me. I had always wandered about the clippers. Not what they would feel like but, instead, why they used them instead of scissors. A second later I knew the answer.

I felt the vibration on my neck. It tickled. When they started moving up the back of my head the sound changed slightly. I could hear the blades cutting my hair. Suddenly, I had goose bumps all over. A smile stretched across my face. The memory of that first pass up the back of my head is still as clear as the moment it happened. I still get goose bumps every time I think about it.

She had started the second pass up the back of my head. This time I savored the sensations. The clippers felt like they were cutting all of my hair off. I was really wondering if I had any hair left back there. Two more passes and she finished the back.

After a brief pause the left side was cut next. I could see she had a comb in her left hand. I could feel her bring the comb up into my hair and then the clippers cut more of my hair off. The sound was different. The clippers made a rasping sound as they cut. The only thing I could figure was the clippers were scraping across the comb as they cut. The left side was finished in what seemed like only a few seconds and then the comb and clipper ritual was repeated on my right side.

The sound of the clippers stopped. Silence. You could hear a pin drop. After a few seconds she was back with her scissors cutting the top. Not much hair was falling this time and it didn’t take her long to finish.

The silence was broken by the sound of a much higher pitched hum. The barber had a small clipper in her hand and began trimming the hair around my hairline. She also used the clippers to touch up different spots on my head.

“I’m almost through honey.” said the barber. Her first words. She disappeared into the back and reappeared almost immediately. She was carrying a curling iron, not something I expected. She started curling my hair. When she was finished she brushed it out, undid the cape and took it off.

I just sat there looking at Mike. He got up from his chair and walked over to the barber chair as I climbed down.

“Well, how do you like it?” I asked.

“Wow, you look fantastic” he said. “Take a look”

I still had not seen my new look. I slowly turned around and looked at myself in the mirror. I almost didn’t recognize myself. It had all been cut off. I’ve seen similar haircuts on other women but it’s entirely something else to see it on you for the first time. I walked up to the mirror to get a closer look.

The top stood up and was brushed back towards the crown. The sides were tapered very short around my ears. My hairline stopped almost a quarter inch above my ears. I turned sideways to see in the mirror. You could see my scalp through what little hair there was left above my ears. The barber handed my a mirror so I could see the back. Wow!! It was short!!! The clippers had done their job well. You could see my scalp almost halfway up the back.

My hair wasn’t going to float across Mike’s face anymore. I liked it and I could tell by the smile on Mike’s face that he liked it to. We both thanked her and then paid her. This had been one of the most exhilarating experiences I have ever had. The unknown can sure cause a lot of strong emotions.

THE BARBETTE

It was slow for a Saturday. In fact, this was one of the slowest Saturday’s I’ve had since I opened my shop 12 years ago. I love cutting hair. Most of my customers were men but I have about two dozen women clients. I have been working very hard to attract a younger clientele to the shop. Almost all of the women were in their twenties or thirties and had short hairstyles. They all seemed to like getting their hair cut in an old fashioned barbershop.

I’ve seen it all since opening the shop. Men getting summer haircuts, kid’s first haircuts, wives directing their husband’s haircuts, husbands supervising their wives haircuts, mom’s with all the kids getting haircuts, etc. More recently I have seen more and more women opting for shorter styles.

I watch people all day long, whether they are in my shop or walking around the square. I have become very good at reading people. It is amazing what you can learn from body language. Every emotion we have is displayed in our movements. When I’m not cutting hair I like to sit in my chair and watch people on the square.

Today was no different. I was sitting in the chair reading a magazine when an attractive woman stepped into the shop. She was wearing a simple blue sun dress. Her hair was jet black and hung loosely down past her shoulders. She had beautiful shiny hair. What really interested me was the look on her face. She had a look of uncertainty and excitement, but there was something else there. I couldn’t quite put my finger on it. She had stopped halfway between the door an
d my chair, she was hesitating. She looked at me and then back out the door and then back at me and then out the door.

Bingo!!! A man walked up outside and looked in. She was looking for approval from this guy. She looked at him for a couple of seconds and then turned back towards me. I stepped down from the chair and moved back behind it. The woman slowly walked over and climbed up into the chair. The uncertainty in her face was gone. I now knew she wanted to get a real haircut. I’ve seen this before. The woman getting permission before getting shorn. You never really know how a customer wants their haircut without discussing it with them, but I knew what this customer was after. She was in my shop because she wanted to get rid of her long hair. Women rarely come to a barbershop to get their long hair trimmed, when they walk through my door it is because they have a short haircut they want to get cleaned up or they have longer hair and they want to get rid of it.

The man was now sitting in a chair directly in front of the woman. I immediately knew the right haircut for her. She had a slender face with very feminine cheek bones. I was going to cut her hair very short. I just wandered if they were going to let me cut her hair without talking about how it was going to be done. I was about to find out how much trust I had with her.

I gently floated my hair cape in front of her and let it gently settle around her lap and shoulders. I fastened it tightly around her neck to prevent any of the tiny hairs I was going to be cutting from sliding down her neck. I picked up my comb and began combing her black silky locks. She had gorgeous hair. I kept brushing until her hair looked as soft and shiny as a silk teddy. Without hesitating I turned to the counter and picked up my comb and scissors.

I combed her hair a couple more times and starting right at the front of her head I combed up the first long section and scissored it off an inch and a half from her head. As soon as I started slicing I felt her body tense. The moment of truth had arrived. Was she going to scream? I was almost positive she wouldn’t. I felt confident that she was here for a shearing. The worst case was she was going to leave my shop with some pretty short bangs.

I let the first section of cut hair slither past her face and gently come to rest in her lap. She had no mirror to see what I was cutting and I did need her to passively agree before I cut the rest of her hair off. Her eyes followed the severed lock of hair into her lap. She then looked at the guy sitting in the chair, but he just looked back at her with a grin on his face. A moment later her head came back up ready for the next lock to be snipped.

I methodically worked my way back to her crown cutting each long lock of hair off to just an inch and a half long. I then started on the left side cutting each section down to an inch long. I worked my way around to the back and then finished up on the right side scissoring the last lock of long hair off at her temple.

I took a quick moment to look at what was left of her hair. Her hair was lying flat against her head in a soft cap. I thought about stopping right here because this was a very flattering haircut on her. I also knew that what made this cut look so good right now was also what would make it look great when cut even shorter. Her growth pattern clearly would ensure that when cut shorter the hair would lie down against her head instead of sticking straight out.

I turned around to the counter and picked up my Oster clippers. They currently had a #1 guide on them and that was just too short for this haircut so I removed it and put on a #2 guide. Without hesitating I turned back to my customer and gently pushed her head forward.

I love the sound of the clippers coming to life. They make a gentle electrical pop and immediately the air is filled with the sound of the blades vibrating back and forth. When I hear that sound I know some hair is coming off someone’s head. It may not be a lot of hair but it will be efficiently clipped from a customers head with almost no effort from the clippers. My hand and the clippers control everything at this point; from how quickly the hair is sheared to how much is sheared, to how much scalp is exposed and most importantly how well the customer likes what I have done. Although I love to use the clippers on my customers it is always important to me that they like the final result.

I noticed the young lady jump a little as the clippers came to like. She hadn’t expected this. I brought them up to the base of her nape and hesitated only a brief moment. Up they went to the crown. I gently pulled them away from her head as they went up the back of her head. What was left was a nice short pelt of hair. Her scalp was barely visible right at the base of her nape. I had guessed right, the #1 would have been too short for her. The #2 was almost too much but when I was finished she would look fantastic.

I always like the contrast of that first pass with the clippers. In this case the clippered swath up the center of her head and the 1″ locks hanging on both sides. I quickly cut the rest of the back to match what I had already done and turned the clippers off. The silence right after the clippers go silent is special. It means they have finished their work for the moment and there is no going back. What they have removed cannot be undone.

I ran my hand up the back to test how it felt, nice and soft. The back was now less than an inch long at the crown and tapered gently down to ¼” at her nape. Her hair lay close to her head even after my hand had messed it up.

I returned to my counter and replaced the #2 blade with a #0 blade. I was going to use the clippers and comb to cut the sides and needed to be precise when I cut hair this way. I returned to the chair and went to her left side. I combed the hair on the side a couple of times to make sure any tangles were removed.

Pop!!! No flinch this time, a good sign. She was relaxed and enjoying what I was doing. Starting at her temple I lifted the hair with the comb and then ran the clippers over the comb cutting off every thing that had stood out from the comb. I was going to cut the sides very similar to how the back was done. Every time the comb lifted her hair the clippers effortlessly removed the excess I wanted. After a couple of minutes the left side had been cut just how I wanted. I moved around to the right side and repeated my work with the comb and clippers.

All that was left was the top. I didn’t want to cut much of the length on top; in fact, I was planning on curling the top to create a soft look for her. The contrast between the soft curls on top and the clippered back and sides was going to look fantastic. I put the clippers down on the counter and grabbed my scissors. I just trimmed the length on top to make sure it was even all over.

Back at the counter I exchanged the scissors for my edging clippers. The sound they make just isn’t as satisfying as the big Oster’s. They have a much higher pitch to them and you just know they can’t do the heavy work, but then they aren’t designed to. I use them to cut any stray hairs I may have missed and to taper the hairline.

First, I use them to taper her hairline shorter. Not much, just about half an inch up from her hairline. I work all the way around her head removing everything at the hairline quickly blending this into the ¼” hair. Perfect, this completes the back and sides. One last step before I show her, her new haircut.

“I’m almost through honey.” I said. I went into the back and came out with my curling iron. I don’t get to use this very often on a customer. I plugged it in and curled the top. When I had finished the top of her head was full of curls. I picked up my brush and gently brushed the top out. Loosening the curls added volume to her hair. A little spray and her haircut was finished.

I removed the cape and let all of t
he cut hair slide gently to the floor. The lady stood up and the guy got out of his seat and walked up to her. She still hadn’t seen her haircut. Normally my customers immediately look at themselves. She asked if he liked it and he said it looked great and suggested she take a look.

The moment of truth, so to speak. She turned to look at the mirror. I love this part. Initially there is shock, then recognition and finally judgment. Her face registered all of these emotions. The smile that appeared told me the judgment was a good one.

The couple thanked me a few times, paid me and then walked out the door. I hoped I would see them again in the future.

The Aftermath

Outside on the sidewalk I just stared at my wife’s head. Almost all of her hair had been cut off. She looked great but the shock I felt was still very much with me. I reached up and rubbed the back of her head. My hand was almost to the top of her head before I felt any hair between my fingers.

I looked at her and asked what had just happened.

“I just got a haircut. What do you mean?” In an innocent girlish sort of way.

“Vicky, I know you just got a haircut that’s obvious!!! Why?”

“Do you really like it? I know its short, but be honest with me. How does it look?”

A big smile appeared on my face and I said. “Yes I do like it, I like it a lot. I’m still in a bit of shock at the moment that’s all. All of your silky black hair is gone. I am going to miss running my hands through it all the time, that’s all.”

“Are you going to miss that more than not smelling cigarette smoke in it when we make love?”

“Is that what this was about???” I said with surprise in my voice.

“That was a big part of it. When you made your little dig about my smoking earlier I just happened to look at the stores down the street and saw the red and white barber pole a couple of doors away. I know you don’t like the smell of smoke in my hair and I just reacted. I must admit I was a little miffed at the time and that’s why I walked into the barbershop. I didn’t know what I was going to do I just knew I was going to get my hair cut shorter so you wouldn’t complain about the smell anymore. I didn’t think you would really care about the haircut. I know you love me and I love you very much.”

I just stood there a moment and then gave her a big hug. “I do love you very much and you’re right, I didn’t marry you for your hair but because of who you are. Your hair looks great. I never thought about you having short hair but you do look great. I didn’t think it possible but you look even more beautiful right now that you did before the haircut. I can see the beauty of your eyes and face even better now.”

“Oh honey, you’re so sweet. Thank you.” She gave me a big hug and kiss at the same time.

“How did she know this is what you wanted, I didn’t see you say anything to her?”

Vicky’s face turned a little red. “I never said anything to her. When I thought we were about to talk about what I wanted she cut off the first chunk of hair. I was very nervous but I saw the smile on your face and assumed everything was okay. There was something about her that I liked, she was confident and I just went with what she was doing. If I had of seen a troubled look on your face I would have stopped her but you seemed happy the entire time.”

“Amazing!” Was all I could say.

I reached out and rubbed the back of her head again. It felt so soft and sexy. “She sure knew what she was doing.” I said.

“I know. It was the scariest and most exciting experience I think I’ve ever had.” Vicky said.

Shelly paused on the sidewalk and lit a cigarette. She took a deep drag and exhaled the smoke toward the heavens. Now that was sexy. All I wanted to do now was get her back to the hotel and climb into bed. It was time to find out if the barber got rid of my pet peeve when making love to my wife.

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