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It's pretty much unheard of for me to win anything and that's why I sat there for a moment when the head teacher called out my number from the raffle. I hadn't even looked at my strip of tickets when the numbers were called out. Nobody jumped for the latest number and that was what prompted me to look. It was one of mine.

I had missed out on the first prize of a two week break in Spain, generously donated by one of the other parents and the second prize of a weekend break at the seaside, but I bagged the third prize. It raised lots of cheers, but once I realised what it was I wasn't overly thrilled. I had won a spa session, makeover and professional photo shoot. Not entirely what I would have chosen as a single parent on a tight budget.

I found myself wishing that I had won one of the holidays, so at least I could have taken Josh away for a few days and spent my own meagre holiday budget on having a few more treats. He was always pestering me to let him have a go on one of those karting tracks, but I always had to say no. Had I won first or second, I'm sure that he would have had the time of his life. As it was, here was his mom with a voucher to get herself pampered and photographed of all things. Useful! I toyed with the idea of throwing the prize back, but decided that it would seem ungrateful. Perhaps one day I would feel inclined just to go and have some time for myself when Josh was hanging out with his mates.

It was a close thing between letting the voucher lapse and actually ringing up to book a session. My friend Judy persuaded me in the end, saying that I deserved some time for myself and it was about time I did something different. So I booked an appointment which turned out to be for the whole afternoon. The woman I spoke to said it would mean that I wouldn't be rushed and could just relax and enjoy what was on offer. Timewise it was fine. One of the advantages of being a self-employed book-keeper working from home was that you could pretty much dictate your own schedule. It was ideal if I needed time with Josh or if I ever needed time to spend half a day getting a makeover!

I smiled to myself when I put the phone down; the very thought of me spending so much time on something for myself was ridiculous. Even though I did my best to look as good as I could on limited resources, my appearance was geared to low maintenance. I actually thought that I would pose quite a challenge to the unfortunate soul tasked with re-inventing me. My hair was already short, not quite an elfin crop, but not far off. Short, dark, professional. Would I end up as a blonde or a redhead, I wondered, since there was little dramatic 'long to short' value to be had?

I had no real idea what to expect from the place, although images formed in my head, based on scenes from movies and travelogues that I had seen. Pristine, clinical places with immaculate staff, almost medical in a way, but without the pain and anguish. I hoped anyway!

I spent the morning before the session getting ready, pausing occasionally to chastise myself for my anxiety. I hadn't told Josh before he left for school that he would have a 'new' mother when he came home that evening. It would be a surprise for him, although I had no idea how the session would turn out. Once I decided that there was no more that I could do to prepare myself, I sat and read for a while. Something that I enjoyed, but rarely indulged in anymore. Perhaps this was going to be the start of me re-appraising my life and what was important to me. It was only me and 16 year-old Josh, but now that he was getting more self-sufficient perhaps there would be more time for me to re-discover things that made me happy. Perhaps even to find someone to share things with once again.

I walked as confidently as I could into the reception at the spa / salon, whatever it wanted to be called and announced myself. I was greeted like a VIP and to my surprise was offered a glass of champagne as I was being shown to a more secluded part of the building. I followed the greeter into a lovely changing room, furnished like someone's private quarters and was shown where to put my clothes. The girl indicated a rather sumptuous gown that I was to put on. I was left alone while I got changed, but was joined shortly by a lovely young thing of about twenty five who gave me the most wonderful massage.

I had never had a professional massage before, although I had endured a few half-hearted attempts by a former boyfriend as a prelude to equally half-hearted attempts at sex. He hadn't lasted long, in more ways than one! It was nice just to lie there and enjoy the sensations in a non-sexual way and just switch off in the knowledge that I didn't have to prepare myself for a quick lunge between my legs! They had gone to a lot of trouble to get the music just right, get the subtle aromas just right. All in all, it was perfect and made me glad that I had taken up the prize.

At the end of the massage, the girl told me to take my time, but that I should put my gown back on and go into the next room when I was ready. After a couple of minutes, I swung my legs off the table, wrapped the gown around me and headed for whatever awaited me next door. This was the real part of today's visit and the one that I was apprehensive about. I had been telling myself since I booked the appointment that I was being stupid and that the only reason that I was nervous was that I just wasn't used to indulging myself anymore. I was once, but things had taken a different course and I had just got in a rut. Perhaps this session would be a way of peeping over the edge of the rut and doing something a little bit different for once. It was for me, it wasn't for some man and I just had to keep telling myself to enjoy it whatever it was. I had tried to convince myself to say 'yes' to whatever was suggested, but on the one hand I wasn't convinced that I was that brave and on the other I wasn't entirely sure that I would be given that opportunity. Perhaps they would just do whatever they wanted to me and that would be the end of it. After all, it wasn't as if I was a paying customer who could complain.

I opened the door and was greeted by another well-appointed room with two styling stations along one wall and a lie-back basin for hair washing. I'd never had my hair washed while lying prone before. That would be interesting! The rest of the room was done out like a sitting room with various pieces of furniture including a chaise longue. Very stylish. Obviously where the photo shoot would take place. A moment after I entered, another door opened and the woman that I had met when I first arrived came in, together with a man clutching two cameras. She introduced herself as Cathy and the man as James, the house photographer.

Cathy was as well-groomed as you would expect for someone in her job. Slim, good figure, with her highlighted blond hair cut so that it just touched the collar of her white tunic. She was probably in her early thirties, although it was difficult to be sure because she obviously looked after herself so well. James was probably in his mid-forties, slightly older than me. He had the start of a paunch and was clearly trying his best to conceal it. He was casually dressed in jeans and a striped shirt, but I suspected that such a casual look didn't actually come cheap. It wouldn't take too long to guess what each of them did if you saw them on the street.

'Hi, Maggie, I hope you enjoyed that' she said

'It was wonderful' I replied, looking at the man with slight suspicion. I hadn't expected a man to be involved at this stage and this took the relaxed edge off things for me. As we chatted briefly, it turned out that he was responsible for the arty, still photos while Cathy took videos of the sessions. I was a little self-conscious about only having a dressing gown to cover my modesty while the other two were dressed in proper clothes. Another glass of champagne was proffered which I sipped from slowly while Cathy and James prepared their equipment.

'James wanted to take a few shots of you before we do your makeover, I hope that's okay' she said.

I nodded my agreement, still all too aware of my limited clothing.

Before I could think much harder I was being directed to stand against a coloured background and James had started to snap away, concentrating on head shots obviously, since this was where my transformation was going to take place. After the first few shots I started to relax, although I'm not sure how much the champagne had to do with that. I started to feel again the way that I had during my massage.

James asked me to go over to the chaise longue and kneel on it with my back to him. I heard the shutter on his camera click a couple of times and then he spoke for the first time in a while.

'Could you slip your gown off your shoulders slightly, so that I can get a natural shot of you looking over your shoulder?' he asked.

I looked over my shoulder towards Cathy, questioningly.

'Just slip it down a little, so that James can frame the picture, don't be shy' she said.

I hesitated a moment and then eased it off one shoulder and then the next while preserving my modesty. I wasn't ashamed of my body, it was just a strange scenario for me to be modelling for a photo-shoot, even with clothes on. When the prize talked about photographs I thought that it would be a portrait type picture, not one where I had to think about what other people thought about my boobs and backside. I wasn't heavy by any means, indeed if you considered that I was a 41 year-old mother who never darkened the doors of a gym, I was pretty good. The shutter clicked again and I moved my head this way and that as James instructed.

'Feel free to say 'No' to this, but I think it would be wonderful to get a shot of you facing away, but showing the length of your back. Just showing the essence of you' he said. "Essence of me" I thought. Here was a photographer asking me to take my kit off and he was talking about the "essence of me" I looked at Cathy again.

'I can show you the pictures of some of our other clients if you want, Maggie. It is a wonderful angle. It shows nothing, but everything, if you know what I mean.

'It's just, I wasn't expecting this amount of modelling. I thought that it would be a quick "before" and "after"' I said.

'Think of it as something to put in a drawer and to take out in years to come. You can look back and marvel at how good you looked and what you did today. Cathy said.

She was right, it would be interesting, but I still wasn't entirely comfortable at taking my gown off.

'You don't have to, but I think you'll regret it as a missed opportunity if you don't' she said.

'Cathy wasn't sure at first when she modelled for me, but she's a regular at my classes now' James said.

I looked at Cathy.

'I'm his nude model for his art class' she said with a degree of pride.

What the hell, I thought, undoing the belt and letting the gown slide right down. I still had my back to them and looked to see where I could put the gown so that it would be out of shot. Cathy solved that problem for me as she moved forward to take it from me. That was my protection removed, I thought.

I posed for James, kneeling down and kneeling up slightly, so that he could photograph my curves as he called them. I only hoped that the lighting wasn't harsh enough to pick out my stretch marks! In all the poses I did like that, none of them showed my face, so there was an element of relief there. He really was just indulging his artistic side.

He told me to take a breather for a moment while he pondered other shots, so I knelt there, looking over the back of the chaise longue. I was conscious of he and Cathy moving away, rummaging in equipment boxes on the other side of the room. Cathy came and sat next to me and I instinctively drew my arm up to cover my breasts and then felt a little foolish.

'James wants to do an arty shot' she said with slight hesitation, so I knew immediately that she was about to ask something that I wouldn't like. 'He won't photograph your face, but it will mean you turning round' she explained. I looked at her.

'When you say 'arty'?'

'It involves holding some hair clippers to your bush, if that's not being too direct. It's something that he finds witty' she said. I looked at her again.

'He did a painting of me in the same position, he's quite harmless' she said, intending to comfort me.

'I thought I was just coming for a haircut, not to be a model' I said.

'Look on it as a bit of fun, something you wouldn't normally do and probably won't ever do again' she said.

'Unless I become one of his models' I replied with a smile. It was my second chance to say 'What the hell' to myself. If it was a picture just of my belly, how many people could identify me from that?

I turned round and sat on the chaise longue, painfully aware that any attempt to cover my modesty would now be futile.

I let Cathy guide me to the pose that James was looking for and ended up kneeling on the floor. She gave me a set of black clippers to hold and positioned them for me at the top of my bush. As she was posing me, I wondered how she knew that I wasn't one of those women who invests time, effort and money in a waxing salon. Had the masseuse told her or was it just a calculated guess? As it happened my bush was quite full, although I did trim a little at the sides for the odd occasion when I went swimming with Josh.

James positioned himself and framed his shot. It felt so weird to kneel there and have a stranger focus all his attention on my groin with the sole purpose of taking a picture of me. Cathy stayed kneeling close to me, reaching across to adjust the angle of the clippers slightly. James had taken a dozen shots or more when Cathy reached across again and flicked the switch on the side of the clippers so that they started to buzz quietly. I jumped slightly at the unexpected sound. She stood up, leaving me holding the vibrating clippers. James instructed me to look down at them.

'Now just move the blade slowly downwards, let it glide' he said.

The little voice in my head screeched "What the f.."

'Just let it glide' Cathy said.

I looked across at her, my hand frozen where it was.

She had a small gadget that had to be a video camera trained on me.

'No' I said firmly. 'No, no, no' I repeated and put the clippers on the floor.

Cathy moved across to me, lowering the camera.

'It's not showing your face, Maggie, it's just something extra for James to work with' she said.

'Can we just stop a minute, can you tell me what's going on here' I said in my best attempt to be assertive, although fully aware how foolish I must have sounded kneeling there stark naked.

'It's just a few arty pictures that's all, but it's not compulsory' she said, touching my arm gently.

'I'm sorry, it's not what I was expecting, it's a bit strange, I'm not comfortable' I said rapidly.

'We can take a break if you want, we can stop or we can make you feel more comfortable, what do you think?' she asked.

'I know it's stupid, but I had enough trouble getting my head round a makeover and here I am naked, posing for photographs.'

'I was the same the first time, but James is very patient, very gentle' she said.

Where does gentle come into it, I wondered.

Cathy knelt next to me, although I noticed that she had placed the video camera on the floor next to her. She reached down and picked up the clippers, clicking them on again.

She placed them on my thigh, allowing them to vibrate against my skin.

'When you're ready, just hold them at the top for a moment and then run them slowly downwards. You'll be fine' she said. She leant forward and gave me a peck on the cheek, squeezing my forearm gently.

She moved away slightly and picked up the video camera again. Was I really going to shave my pubes on camera? I looked at James and I looked at her. I took a deep breath and put the blades of the clippers at the very top of my bush. I hesitated for a moment, still wondering whether I should cross the threshold. I was naked, in a room with two strangers, having my picture taken, being videoed shaving my private parts. I just hoped that I would wake up in a moment.

I moved the clippers downwards, wondering how safe they were. The last thing I wanted to do was cut myself. I felt no pain, just a small sense of wonder as the first of my curls tumbled downwards, rolling together with its neighbours. I moved the clippers slowly, marvelling at the widening patch of skin where moments ago there had been dark curls. I paused when I had got as far down as I could and looked up at Cathy for further instructions. She looked across at James as my de-forestation had been his idea. I looked at him and then stole a glance down at my nether regions. I wasn't sure if I looked ridiculous or comical with tangles of hair at either side of my mound, while I had the faint trace of dark stubble across the middle.

'Can you get Maggie the other clippers, the ones with a guard?' he said to Cathy. As he had stopped taking pictures, I rested back on my heels, retreating to a more modest position. Cathy came back across the room holding a different pair of clippers, slightly bigger than the ones that I had just used. She handed them to me and took the first pair, before retreating to a safe distance again.

'Okay Maggie, can you kneel up again and hold the clippers at your forehead for me please' he instructed.

I quickly visualised what he wanted.

'But I'm going to be on full view?' I queried.

'Don't worry, no-one will know it's you from the angle that I'm going to be taking the shot' he said in a bid to calm my reservations.

'Don't I need to sign some sort of release for you to be able to use these pictures?' I said, still doubtful as to whether I wanted to be doing what I was doing.

'Yes you do, and when we're done we'll talk about that and if you're not happy with any of the pictures then that's the end of it. Okay?'

Cathy was holding the video camera again, so I could be fairly confident that I was being captured on film from more candid angles than James was claiming to be using. They had already seen just about as much of me as there was, so I nodded and knelt back up to assume the pose that James wanted. He was obviously after some sort of shot showing the furrow mown in my pubes being used to suggest what was about to happen to the hair on my head.

I held the clippers up to my forehead.

'Like this?' I asked.

'Bring them down slightly' he instructed. As I moved them I heard the shutter going once more. He asked me to make slight adjustments as he clicked away. I was actually starting to relax about what was going on. Nobody would believe that it was me posing for pictures like these anyway and even if they did, they were hardly out and out porn. A pair of boobs and a bit of bush would hardly get the morality police too excited. Well, maybe they'd take an interest now that there was less bush on display than had been the case when we started!

'Cathy, can you just show Maggie how to turn the clippers on, get her reaction to the sound, you know' James said.

Cathy came closer and reached across me to turn the clippers on, before stepping back again. My reaction to the sound would have been better captured by the video camera than by his still camera, but he clicked away regardless.

'Okay Maggie, just move the clippers back a couple of inches for me' James said.

'But won't that..' I started to say.

'It's fine, Cathy will be able to work with it, just ease them back for me' he said, never looking away from the viewfinder of his camera.

This makeover was getting stranger by the minute. I had expected some sort of consultation, hands-on attention by a highly-trained stylist and here I was, naked on the floor, doing it myself with a pair of men's hairclippers. The whole thing was weird, but it was erotic in some way. I was almost submissive, even though I could get up at any time, but I was doing whatever these people suggested. I had let them strip me of clothes and dignity and I was actually finding it quite liberating in a way. I wasn't a mother having to make all the decisions for once, they were being made for me. It was a strange freedom.

I moved the clippers back, somewhat clumsily. Nothing seemed to happen beyond the clicking of James's camera.

'That's great, well done' James encouraged.

'Is that it?' I asked, relieved that I didn't appear to have done any damage to myself.

'We'll do some more once Cathy has worked her magic, if that's okay' he replied, talking to me without the camera to his face for the first time for a while. I started to get up.

'You can stay like that if you like, that's a great level for me to work if you're not uncomfortable' Cathy said.

'My robe?' I said.

'Don't worry, you're beautiful as you are' she replied.

There was still something vaguely exciting about the situation. She pulled a cart with various bits of hairdressing equipment towards where I was kneeling and as she passed James, she handed him the video camera to replace the stills camera that he had put down. It seemed that my haircut was going to be videoed for posterity.

Cathy took the clippers from me and inspected them. She switched them on and then surprised me by bending and kissing me on the top of my head.

'It's going to be that bad, is it?' I joked, starting to feel slightly nervous although still excited at the whole scenario.

Without comment, Cathy swept my fringe off my face with her left hand and followed it with the clippers. Whatever I had done in my uncertainty was well and truly done now with Cathy's confident sweep. I could feel hair hit my naked back. I smiled towards James and the video camera. My nerves had gone as soon as Cathy made contact with the clippers. I was going short, shorter than I had ever considered and I was excited by it. Excited in a way that I hadn't been for a very long time. The sort of excitement that I had given up hope of feeling again. I knew that my nipples were hardening and I didn't care that I was being filmed. I did the only thing that I could think of doing and ran my hand appreciatively up the back of Cathy's leg as she made another pass across the top of my head. I felt a moment of hesitation in the movement of the clippers in response to my touch.

'Remember who has the clippers at your head' she said with a laugh.

I closed my eyes and gave in to the sensations. Somebody was filming me, naked and vulnerable and I just gave in to it. The clippers did whatever they were doing, James filmed, tremors welled, all anxiety about a makeover long since gone. It seemed like only moments before Cathy urged me to open my eyes to look at the pile of hair all around me. I was actually surprised that I had had so much hair. Quite what was left I neither knew nor cared, I just wanted today to last forever. Cathy rummaged in her equipment cart and put a different attachment on the clippers, but to me it looked the same as the one that was there before. I closed my eyes again in preparation and smiled inside as the vibration started just in front of my ear. It worked its way around my head and I felt the lightest touch from time to time as more hair fell. I would happily have had this done to me for hours on end although common sense told me that I would not have enough hair for that length of time.

The clippers went quiet and I heard Cathy blow on them to clean them. She rubbed her hand over my scalp and I opened my eyes to see tiny bits of stubble falling to the floor. I looked at James and smiled at him again. I just couldn't stop smiling.

Cathy moved aside to let him film me and I just knelt there, looking straight ahead. I wondered what Josh would think of his mother now. James did a full tour around me and as he filmed I made no attempt to hide myself. I was obviously more shameless that I had thought. As James came back round to the front he was still concentrating on filming me, moving switches which I supposed were zooming in and out on various points of interest, although I couldn't guess what they would be. New haircut? Erect nipples? Partly shaven mound? It was hard to tell. He was concentrating on me and I was trying to look alluring, so it was a surprise to both of us when Cathy brazenly reached up and unzipped his trousers. He stopped moving as she worked them loose and in moments my field of vision was taken up with the most impressive erection I had seen away from a film screen. Did I do that, I wondered?

James started to move around me again, but as he moved behind me the video camera was handed off to Cathy. Hands that had been occupied by the technicalities of filming now cupped my breasts. The weight of his body was urging me forward from my upright kneeling position. I put out my hands to support me, my backside rising in invitation. So much had happened today that I had not expected and could not have expected, but I wouldn't have missed any of it. Whatever I looked like shorn of hair, it would be worth it. It had been a long time since I had felt like this. I gasped as James slid into me, adjusting my position to accommodate him. There was no need for foreplay, that had been accomplished by the massage and events in the room with Cathy and James already. I looked at Cathy and smiled in triumph before my expression changed as I realised that James hadn't been fully home. He thrust into me again and again, confirming that I wasn't the only one to have been aroused by the events in the salon. I looked at the camera again, wondering what would happen if the film were ever to be seen by Josh or his friends. What would he make of his mum, the amateur porn star? The urgency of James's thrusts was already suggesting that my debut was to be brief, however. James locked his arms around my midriff, rearing us both up into a more upright position. Cathy was right there in front of us, eyes fixed on the image on the camera screen. And then it was over in a burst of movement and gasps. I was no longer the porn star. I was once more a single mother with a teenage son, feeling more than a little awkward at having been watched and filmed in my moments of abandon.

James remained locked around me for a few moments until Cathy moved towards me. She stroked my blushing cheek and smiled at me.

'That's a first!' she said.

I edged away from James, still kneeling, not quite ready to turn and look at him.

'Honestly?'

'Honestly' she confirmed 'This is a working spa, nothing else' she said, embarrassed, but not in the same league as me. What did that say about me.

'You can pop back next door for a shower if you want' she said.

I stood up and gratefully gathered up my gown. I still hadn't acknowledged James and went next door without another word. I stood underneath the shower jets cursing myself for my weakness for a minute or so, before I started to rationalise what I had done. The conclusion that I came to was that I had let my hair down and no harm had been done. Then I smiled to myself as the recognition dawned on me that I had indeed let my hair down and that most of it lay on the floor in the room next door. I started to wash my hair and marvelled at how strange it felt. It was like the way Josh's had used to feel when I got the barber to cut his hair really short for the summer. It wasn't my head, that was how I started to look at it. I finished washing and got out of the shower to dry myself. I rubbed the towel over my head and went towards the mirror on the opposite wall. I even looked a bit like Josh had used to, I thought. Cathy had well and truly made me over, a little more than a centimetre of dark hair stood on top of my head, whilst the sides were shorter still. What would everyone say? I looked down at my strange pubic hairstyle and decided that I would sort that out when I got home.

I looked across at my clothes and was tempted to put them on and leave, but that struck me as a bit foolish. We were all consenting adults in that room, nobody had forced me to do anything and after all, I had enjoyed it. I had never done anything like that and probably never would again, so it was just something to chalk up to experience. I wrapped the gown around me and went back next door.

James and Cathy were both sitting on the chaise longue chatting as if nothing had happened. James was dressed again and the room had been tidied. All evidence of my haircut had gone.

'That's better' I said sheepishly.

'Good' Cathy said.

I looked at James and gave him a coy smile.

'If you come across to the basin, I'll just finish your cut and then James can do your final portrait' Cathy said. I walked over to where she indicated and sat down. She busied herself with the clippers once again, making adjustments, blending in the two different lengths I suspected.

'Was this what you had in mind for me?' I asked after a while.

'Pretty much, although not quite in those circumstances. You have a great face for short hair and you are obviously happy with short hair, so I just thought that I would take you a bit shorter than you would probably ever consider' she replied.

I was watching what she was doing in the mirror, guiding the clippers with an expert hand. She was making little change to the actual length, but she was making the cut flow better. She certainly had more skill that the barber that sheared Josh and definitely had more interest in making sure that my hair was just as she wanted it. As she worked, I was getting to like the 'made-over me' more and more. I had more time to look while she did my make-up, again more adventurous than I would ever consider for myself and certainly going to more trouble than I would ever bother with. It was subtle and brought out a slightly different impression of me, I thought.

She pronounced me finished and that heralded a fresh modelling session with James. He re-shot the photos of me kneeling naked on the chaise longue and waited patiently while I dressed in an outfit that Cathy had picked out for me. I was enjoying posing, both casual and more formal and in a way, I was sad when he said that he was done. I started to take off the provided clothes and he came across to kiss me on the cheek. He told me that he would choose the best shots and send them to me. With that, he was gone.

Just as I was finishing dressing, Cathy handed me a small envelope.

'The evidence' she said 'the only copy, so it's for you to decide whether to hang on to it for posterity or to destroy it.'

'Thank you' I said, with a hint of relief. Did I want to keep it? I would have a think on the way home.

There wasn't much more to say to Cathy, so I made my excuses and left, smiling at the spring in my step as I walked to the car. I barely thought about my hair on the way home or the bolder make-up on my face. My thoughts were entirely on the frenzied coupling with James and how it had come about so suddenly, yet everything at the spa had seemed to lead up to it. Was it really the first time that a session had taken that sort of turn?

I walked into the house and glanced at the mirror in the hall. A more confident Maggie looked back at me. I needed to remember some of what Cathy had done so that I could try to change the way that I put on make-up in future.

James was already home, I could hear him in his bedroom. I shouted a greeting upstairs and went into the kitchen to get my mind back on the detail of everyday life as a single parent again rather than what I had experienced so recently. I turned the oven on and then thought that I had better go and get 'first contact' with my teenager out of the way. I walked slowly up the stairs wondering what he would make of it and he didn't disappoint me.

'Haircut! Haircut!' he sang in the way that only schoolboys can manage. I let him have his fun for a moment.

'What do you think of your mum then?' I asked.

'It's alright' Josh said, his attention returning to his computer.

'Thanks for that confidence booster, I'll remember that' I said as I left his room.

I waited until I had a shower that night before tackling the damage wrought on my bush. I smiled as I saw it, stubbly path down the middle, tangled shrubbery at each side. I took the scissors to it at first and cut both sides short. I intended to even it out as much as possible and then let it grow from there, but I changed my mind and decided that it still looked a mess however carefully I cut it down. So, my poor bush succumbed to the shaving foam and razor, very gingerly indeed. I went slowly at first to make sure that I didn't nick myself, but as I shaved away the stubble I found that I was going slowly because I liked the way it felt. It was so smooth and slick with traces of foam on it, it was all that I could do to stop myself from having a little play in the bathroom. If only Josh wasn't just across the hallway!

Over the coming days, both Josh and I got used to what he had taken to calling 'the convict look' that I now sported. In a moment of weakness, he actually said that he thought that I was very brave and that I was clearly 'cooler' than he had given me credit for. Much 'cooler' than any of his friends' mothers apparently. He blushed when I asked him what he was doing looking at his friends' mothers and I considered that he and I were now even when it came to inappropriate remarks to each other!

It was about ten days after my makeover that I answered the phone one evening to find that it was Cathy.

'Hi' I said, somewhat surprised.

After a few pleasantries and queries about whether I had got used to my haircut, Cathy got to the real purpose of her call.

'James would like to do another shoot with you, but he was a bit wary of contacting you himself' she said. I didn't know what to say.

'Is it worth me telling you a bit more about it or shall I just tell him that you weren't interested?' she asked.

Which was it to be? I had thought about that afternoon on many occasions since, but hadn't actually considered that James and I would meet again. Despite what he had said, I was still waiting for the photos that he had promised. Although they were supposed to be a part of my prize I could hardly complain to the raffle organisers and say that my porn photos had been withheld.

'What sort of shoot?' I asked.

'Nude' she replied bluntly 'so if that's a no-no, then there's no need to go into more detail.'

I was conscious that James was in his room and just hoped that he had his headphones on.

'Are we talking stills or more video?' I asked cheekily.

'Stills, although he has asked me what happened to the video from that afternoon' she replied. My mind flashed to the envelope at the bottom of my jewellery box.

My mind raced. Did I want to be getting involved in more modelling, given what it led to last time?

'I'm happy to talk about it' I said after a moment, surprising Cathy as much as myself.

'There's one other thing' she said.

I waited.

'You would need to be bald' she said starkly.

'What?'

'He wants to do a set of pictures exploring curves and shapes that he considers artistic. If you're interested we can talk a bit more about it, but you need to think about those two words, 'nude' and 'bald' first. The only thing is, he wants to do the shoot by Saturday, so I need to know as soon as possible really. There'll be a decent fee of course, if that has anything to do with it.'

I didn't really hear much else of what Cathy said after that, but I did promise to get back to her once I had thought it over. What was I doing though, even thinking about it?

I poured myself a glass of wine and sat for a while. I thought about James again, thought about how it felt to have him holding me tight. I wondered about how I would feel having a shaved head.

After a while I went upstairs. I knocked on Josh's door and waited for permission to enter. I smiled at him.

'What would you say if your mum shaved her head?' I asked, considering directness the best course of action while I had his attention.

I saw a flicker of concern cross his face.

'I'm not ill or anything. Somebody wants to take some photos and they want me to shave my head for them' I explained.

'Why?' he fired back, with a glance back at his computer screen to make sure that he hadn't missed anything.

'I don't know. It's something he wants to do and he's asked me if I would do it. I just don't want to do it if it would upset you or anything' I said.

'It's your hair' he said, his glance going back to his screen for longer.

'You don't mind?'

He shrugged. I withdrew from the inner sanctum, my presence clearly no longer required. I went back to my wine and mused for a while. I ran my hand over my scalp. I liked the way it felt and was even a little disappointed that it didn't quite feel the same as it had when Cathy first cut it. I thought that it made me look younger and more than one person had told me the same. I had already decided that I would have it cut again in a couple of weeks and that I might see about getting the top cut a little shorter than Cathy had cut it. Would it be so different having it shaved off? Was that even the main issue? When Cathy said "nude" what did that entail? Arty? Tasteful? Graphic? What about James? Was that a one off or was he looking for another casual screw? Was I looking for another casual screw?

I picked up the phone. Cathy answered.

'Yes' I said.

'Maggie?' she asked.

'Yes and yes' I replied.

'Really?'

'Tell him not to give me too much time to change my mind' I said.

And that was it. Cathy said that she would confirm place and time and I sat back with a second glass of wine.

Saturday came and couldn't believe that I was getting in to my car to go and have my head shaved and pose in the nude. Images flashed through my head as I drove and the butterflies in my stomach became more agitated the closer I got to James's studio. I took a few deep breaths before getting out of the car. The door was ajar and I walked in, trying to work out which door off the corridor was the right one. I heard movement up ahead and went in. I stopped in my tracks.

James was fiddling with a camera, but it wasn't the sight of him again that made me stop. It was Cathy. Her blonde hair was gone and she was quite bald. I tried not to stare.

'Hello' I said hesitantly, looking from Cathy to James.

'Hi, Maggie, what do you think?' Cathy asked, putting a hand to her head in a theatrical pose.

'I didn't realise that you would be doing it too' I said as calmly as I could. I smiled at James, still not too sure how things were between us and what he had planned for me.

'The maestro here has all manner of ideas about symmetry and God knows what else he wants to do. I keep telling him that he's just an old pervert who wants to get women out of their clothes' she said with a smile at him.

'A bit less of the "old" if you don't mind, my dear' James retorted. 'Good to see you again' he added, smiling at me warmly.

I returned his smile and looked around me. It was a workshop or preparation area with cameras and lenses dotted around on one work surface, but with make up and grooming stuff on another. There was a chair with a pair of electric clippers hanging ominously next to it.

'Don't worry about me girls, get yourselves ready and then we'll crack on' James said, busying himself with his bits and pieces again.

'I take it that's for me' I said to Cathy, indicating the chair. She nodded. I decided that I may as well get it over with and slipped off my coat before sitting down. In a strange way I was looking forward to what was about to happen and had been thinking about it ever since Cathy rang to ask me. My thoughts hadn't been so much about what I would look like, but more about what it would feel like to have my head shaved. Despite my best efforts to recall the feeling of Cathy cutting my hair for the first time, my impression was clouded by the sexual overtones surrounding the whole thing. This time, that element wasn't there. Not yet anyway, and there was nothing so far to suggest that it would be. Perhaps the first session really was a one-off. James put down the lens that he had been inspecting and left the room.

'You didn't tell me what you thought' Cathy said, just as she flicked the switch on the clippers.

'I'm sorry Cathy, it was such a surprise. It looks really good. I just hope that it looks half that good on me' I replied.

'Only one way to find out' she said. There was no chance for second thoughts. Cathy drew the clippers across the top of my head from front to back as I watched in the mirror. I breathed in deeply, trying to work out what I felt now that a bald head was a certainty. There was no more supposing, no more imagining, the top of my head was now pretty much hairless as Cathy worked her way quickly with measured strokes.

'Did you do your own?' I asked.

'James helped with the difficult to reach bits, but I did most of it' she replied.

'When?' I asked.

'Just before I rang you' she replied.

'So you were bald when we spoke?'

'Oh yes' she said.

'So the photos aren't just going to be me?' I asked, changing tack.

'Not all of them I don't think. It's that symmetry thing he's after. Two heads together, all that sort of thing' she replied.

I thought about the prospect of posing naked with another woman while Cathy finished with the clippers. There was no mistaking the feeling I had, but once again I couldn't be sure if that was down to the haircut. I looked at myself in the mirror. My hair was well and truly gone. Bald. These big dark eyes looked back at me from underneath an expanse of white. With barely a pause for me to take in the change, Cathy was covering my scalp with shaving foam. I had been fairly sure that she had razor shaved her head as it looked so smooth, but I hadn't realised that the same would be in store for me. It would delay the re-growth and the return to a more conventional appearance. I wasn't sure.

'Do you have to?' I asked as Cathy was making sure that she had covered everywhere that needed to be covered.

'No, I don't, but I think you need to. Believe me, you'll be glad you did' she said and carried on. The razor strokes were so light that I barely felt them. I could judge progress by the way the shaving cream was being stripped from my scalp, but apart from that I really struggled to believe that she was doing anything to me. When she had removed the cream from just about everywhere, she used a towel to wipe my scalp before running her fingers over my skin.

'You'll do' she said, turning away.

I reached up to feel for myself. It was smooth. There was nothing at all that you could call stubble. I watched myself in the mirror, fingers exploring, searching for resistance, but there was none.

'It's amazing!' I said.

'Isn't it!' Cathy agreed.

I stood up and turned to her to thank her, only to see that she was pulling her tee-shirt over her head.

'Time to get ready' she said, reaching behind her to unhook her bra without any hesitation.

'Sorry' I said, realising that I had paid a little too much attention to her freeing her breasts, which I had to admit were particularly shapely, despite not having any interest in such things.

'I spend hours just being stared at in James's classes, so it's fine really' she said, her jeans being eased to the floor. I started to unbutton my own shirt, deciding that it was best to be undressing while Cathy was partly distracted than to be the centre of attention. By the time I was unhooking my own bra, Cathy had stepped out of her panties and I chanced a glance at her lower belly. I had shaved myself again in the shower before coming out, but despite my painstaking handiwork, the finish that I achieved was no match for the perfect smoothness of Cathy's mound.

'I hope you don't mind me asking, but did you do that specially for today?' I said, nodding towards Cathy's groin.

'No, it's one of the perks of the job. One of the girls does it for me. My other half wouldn't have it any other way' she replied.

I hadn't given any thought to whether Cathy had a significant other or not. I sneaked a look at her hand. No ring.

'I live with someone' she explained.

I put my panties on top of the rest of my clothes, telling myself that I wasn't really about to be photographed naked again.

'You're fine, if that's what you were worried about' she said, pointing quickly down there. I smiled, unable to resist comparing Cathy's near perfect body with my own. I had to tell myself that mine might not be perfect anymore but that I had a wonderful son to thank for that and that was worth not having boobs that were quite as firm as hers. Not that I was looking of course.

Cathy led me to the next room which was kitted out with lights on stands and umbrellas and all manner of stuff. James looked at us, appraised us to see if we matched his expectations. I could see him puzzling for a moment.

'Eyebrows' he said tersely.

'No, James' Cathy said.

'They'll spoil the lines' he explained.

'Can't you Photoshop them out?' she asked.

'The pictures will lose their integrity' he said.

Cathy looked at me.

'What do you think Maggie?' she asked.

'Are you asking me to shave my eyebrows off as well?'

'That's about the size of it' she said.

This just gets better and better, I thought. As if it wasn't enough standing there naked and bald! I looked at Cathy. Cathy looked at me.

'Come on, I've got an eyebrow pencil' she said, holding out her hand to me. We went back into the other room and Cathy picked up a small pair of clippers that looked surprisingly familiar from the first session! She walked up to the mirror and peered a little closer. With a single confident sweep, she removed her left eyebrow before changing the angle of her head slightly and doing the other one. She turned to me.

'Don't look at me, just close your eyes' she said.

I felt the clipper blades pressed to my eyebrows. Cathy traced the line of one and then the other before telling me that I could open my eyes. I looked at her first and didn't think that the difference was that big due to her fair colouring. When I looked in the mirror, the effect on my features was altogether more dramatic.

'I'll frighten children if I go out like this' I said.

'We'll sort it out before you go, don't worry' Cathy said. She had a way about her, a serenity that rubbed off on me, if that's not an unfortunate phrase to use when two women are standing naked in such circumstances.

We went back next door and were met with a much more approving expression from James. I am sure that there are those reading this who would love to read that Cathy and I got down and dirty during the course of the next hour or so, but I'm afraid that I will have to disappoint you. Cathy and I got closer than you would expect in normal circumstances and yes, I did get quite closely acquainted with parts of her that only her significant other would normally see, and vice versa, but it was strictly non-sexual. James concentrated on getting us to pose just as he wanted, either alone or together and then on composing his shots. I was intrigued to see how some of them would turn out, although whether I could actually ever show them to anyone would remain to be seen.

After the photo shoot, James waited for Cathy and to get dressed and then quite shyly asked me to go to dinner with him.

'I know that I haven't done any dating for a long time, but in my day we used to do dinner before a frantic screw on the floor' I said to him with a smile. I gave him my number and told him to give me a call. After that, it was time to go home and see what Josh thought about his mom with a bald head and drawn-on eyebrows.

Fortunately he wasn't home when I got back so it gave me time to have a shower and get tidied up. I stared into the mirror for ages, trying to work out what I thought of myself with only eyelashes for body hair. Less than two weeks ago I had been a conventional mum with a conservative haircut who could strip in a public changing room and not raise a second glance. Now I stood there like I don't know what, no more neat cap of hair on my head, no eyebrows unless I drew them on, no bush to protect my modesty. I heard the front door go and broke off from my introspection. I called out a greeting to Josh and got a grunt in return. I got dressed quickly and then put on some make-up so that Josh wouldn't see the full impact of this afternoon's session all at once. I realised that I would need a bit of practise to get my eyebrows looking perfect, but I was reasonably pleased with my first attempt on a blank canvas. Then it was time to present myself to the only person who mattered in my world.

I asked for permission to enter his lair again and walked in gingerly. He stared at me for a moment.

'You should get a tattoo on the side of your head' he said bluntly.

'What do you think of it?'

He nodded slowly. Probably the only indication of approval that I would get from him. He hadn't screamed, he hadn't laughed. That was good. I left him to his computer.

It's now a couple of months since all of that happened. People quickly stopped looking at me in the supermarket and all of my clients were favourable to the change. A couple were very positive, some non-committal, but none negative, which surprised me. Did I shave again, you may ask? Well...

Cathy and I are now firm friends and she shaves my head every week, although she is growing hers out again. As soon as I started to feel stubbly for the first time I just hated it and wanted to get back to smoothness. I was out of the shower and straight on the phone to Cathy to get something done about it. She told me to come in when the salon was closing and during the shave she suggested that she would be prepared to do some electrolysis sessions for a nominal charge. That was all the encouragement that I needed and I am now the proud owner of the smoothest, sexiest pubic mound that I could ever imagine. I must admit that not having eyebrows didn't really do anything for me, so they are back to what they were, pretty much. Being a woman with a shaved head is enough of a challenge sometimes without the additional explanations required for not having eyebrows.

James and I are now a couple and discussing the possibility of moving in together, although it may have to wait a while. I decided that if I was able to submit to someone in such circumstances and enjoy it so much, then there was plenty of mileage in exploring what else we could get up to in private. I have yet to be disappointed, although James claims that his exertions with me when Josh isn't around is payment in kind for that photo shoot which I never did get any money for. It's his birthday soon and as a treat he is going to get a little something from my jewellery box. That should make for an interesting evening's viewing!

As for Josh, he came downstairs one day last week and said that he had found me a drawing of a flower that he really liked. I told him that it was lovely and then his face reddened slightly as he told me why he was showing it to me. After watching him go through that, and wondering how long it had taken him to screw up the courage to make his suggestion, I hugged him and took him in to town. It isn't every teenage boy who would suggest that his mum gets a tattoo! I now proudly sport Josh's design just behind my left ear as a permanent symbol of all the good that came out of something as mundane as a school-fundraiser!

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