Adam - Shaggy to Sleek by Manny

---

Adam fidgeted nervously at his desk. Two more hours to go. In a way, he felt quite excited. Or was he anxious? It was hard to tell. One minute he couldn't wait for the momentous event and the next he was quaking about the prospect.

He glanced at the photo that he'd displayed in his office -- with his parents right before his commencement. Even though it was ten years old, Felix still looked very much the same. The same large green eyes, the same shy smile, the same long, thick brown hair that fell in waves to the base of his collar.

He leaned back in his chair and ran his fingers through his locks. The soft, silken feel had been with for as long as he could remember. And, running his fingers through his hair always helped him calm his nerves.

He looked at the clock for the umpteenth time. It had only moved a few minutes! He was in torment.

Suddenly, he snatched the phone and dialed his supervisor. "Mind if I cut out early this evening? I have something I need to attend to. I'll email you a leave slip before I go."

A thin smile crept across Adam's face as he got the okay. His hands trembled as he typed the data into the form and hit the send button.

Adam pulled his hair back and fashioned it momentarily into a small pony tail. It was quite a handful of thick hair that he held captive momentarily before releasing it. He got up, thinking to himself that when he sat at his desk the next morning, he would not be able to do that.....

He was going to shed his long hair....finally! The big chop! He always knew the day would come at some point in which he'd lose the carefree, playboy look. In fact, he thought it would come much earlier, that he'd have to cut his hair to get a decent job. But, he'd managed to shift from college into the professional world unshorn. He'd even made some quick professional advances up the career ladder. But, after being stuck in he mid-levels for a while, Adam concluded the long hair was keeping him from further advancement. He decided he would do the deed, finally, and get a snappy, tapered business cut! For years he had dreamed about being seated in a traditional barbershop with the clippers at his nape chewing through the plush, long, silken locks....and now, that moment was just minutes away.

Adam quickly scurried out of his office, taking a circuitous route through the area filled with cubicles. There was one cubicle he enjoyed passing, where his pal Doug Hendricks sat. Doug's hair was always immaculate -- a wonderfully sharp taper that gave way to a full mass of wavy hair swept to the side on top. It was a very clean, groomed look around the ears and above his collar, but very full and eye-catching on top. It was the haircut that Adam aspired to in putting an end to his long locks. While he kept tabs of Doug's hair almost continuously, Adam had never actually talked to him about it or expressed any interest in any obvious way about it.

As Adam neared the cubicle where Doug sat he was disappointed to find it empty. Obviously, Doug was at work because their were papers all over the desk and the light was on, but he was not there.

Adam decided to swing by the bathroom on his way out. Check out his own hair one last time and then head out to the car....and then to the barber shop near his house that he had carefully selected for this historic event.

As he turned into the bathroom, his heart skipped a beat. There was Doug! Looking at himself in the mirror! Doug was lost in thought as he gazed at himself. What was shocking about the scene, however, was the Doug was staring in the mirror at his own new haircut. He'd been clipped down aggressively into a very short military-style haircut!

Adam could not believe the scene! Doug's sides and back had been skinned almost all the way up to the crown and the top cut down to the length of a short crewcut. The remnants of his forelock were barely enough to pinch between his fingers.

"Whoa, almost didn't recognize you, Doug!" Adam said with a bit of excitement in his voice.

Doug flashed a quick, shy smile. "I got scalped, didn't I?" He touched the back of his head gingerly and smiled a bit more. Adam was unsure whether Doug liked what he saw or was apprehensive about the scalping.

Adam could not stop staring at the shorn head. "You sure did!" Then he looked at himself in the mirror. The long, beautiful hair...what a contrast to Doug's scalped look.

"New barber? Or was your regular guy just a little over zealous? Maybe you dozed off in the chair...." Adam suggested, trying to sound nonchalant.

"I've been wanting to do this for a long time -- go ultra short. Finally worked up the courage. Told my barber to give me a crewcut, that I wanted my hair cut extra short for summer. And, about 10 minutes later, I looked like this! I have to admit it's a lot shorter than what I had in mind," Doug said. After a few more seconds of staring at himself in the mirror, Doug asked, "So what do you think, Adam?"

"Looks nice and cool, like you said, great for summer. Perhaps I need to visit your barber! What would he do with all this hair of mine?" Adam asked, flouncing his long hair a bit as he stared in the mirror.

"He's got a huge set of clippers that could take you down to the wood in seconds! You might like a marine induction haircut," Doug laughed. This was followed by an awkward silence as Adam fidgeted over the suggestion. Then Doug continued, "But, I can't see that happening. You'd break a half dozen hearts in the secretarial pool if you let anyone take a clippers to your glossy mane!"

Adam thought momentarily about his fan club and his reputation as a sexy longhair manager. He was among the few men who could sport long hair and still appear macho.

But, the idea of breaking hearts by ordering it shorn off kind of appealed to him on one level. It made him feel cocky and self-assured. 'The girls would all still swoon over me, even without my hair' was the thought that periodically crossed Adam's mind. And, even if they didn't, tough s**t. He didn't exist to please them!

Adam also enjoyed playing around the idea of visiting a barber for a clipper cut in order to give himself a jolt. To walk himself into a random barbershop and get caped up....then to order an end to the long hair. 'Give me a short-back-and-sides!' Watch the clumps fall in irreversible torrents. Were his urges bravery or bravado?
Adam cleared his throat a bit before replying to Doug. "Actually, you're quite mistaken. A short haircut can and will happen. In fact, I'm visiting the barbershop this very afternoon. Actually, as soon as I get out of here," he said with a serious tone. "Not an induction cut, obviously. I was thinking along the lines of your former haircut -- tapered around the ears and at the nape, but fairly long on top."

"Really? Why?" asked Doug. "You rock long locks!"

"I guess for the same reason you ended up with your ultra short cut even though your former look was really nice -- the military haircut was something you always wanted to do. Me too. I've always had a bit of a desire to have a real barber, not a salon stylist, take a clippers to this," Adam said, fondling his long hair. "Watch it fall to the cape in great clumps. Years of growth sliced off. Once the clippers go up through this, there's no turning back...."

"If that's the case, go for the induction! Make it a true boot camp experience, clipped down to the scalp! To the wood! You'll look and feel like a new person," Doug said cheerfully as he breezed out of the bathroom.

Adam was left looking at himself in the mirror. While he had known one day he would cut his long hair short, he had never, ever considered shaving off the whole lot of it. Bald! He felt his cock stir. BALD! Shaved down to the wood. Every single last hair taken off! Yes, that certainly had a very strong, strange appeal! His legs felt weak and his knees wobble. His long, pretty hair sent to the floor of the barbershop. Yes! Walking into work tomorrow without hair, past the pool of secretaries. Feeling a bit scared and vulnerable, but also energized that he'd finally taken the bull by the horns and had it done. YES! Seeing the look on Doug's face....his skepticism would be confronted with a startling, stark reality. He would shock himself and all his colleagues with a big, bald head. YES! Standing in this very bathroom, looking in this very mirror and seeing himself stripped clean. BALD!!!! He was going to shed his long hair, and he was determined to shed it ALL. Every bit of it, clipped clean down to the scalp. BALD!!!!!

Adam left the bathroom with his heart racing. A chance encounter and brief conversation had sent his world into an emotional frenzy. He fumbled with his car keys. The car was hot and Adam cranked up the A/C. He glanced into the rear view mirror and saw beads of perspiration forming on his forehead. With both hands, he again pulled his long locks into a makeshift ponytail. There was so much hair back there. Adam thought about the huge set of clippers Doug described when suggesting an induction cut. A shiver went down his spine. He was insane to even be considering an induction cut! But he was more determined than ever.

He reached for his cell phone and tapped out a text message to Doug, "What barber shop do you use? That set of clippers you described is just what I'm going to need to put an end to my long, thick hair."

The reply was almost immediate. "Pete's Barber Shop. 156 E. Walnut St. If you want, I'll join you there....take you out for a beer afterwards!"

"You're on! I'll wait for you in front of the shop." Adam typed back quickly.

As soon as he hit the send button, Adam realized he now had two hours to kill. Two hours to develop cold feet. Two hours to chicken out and stand up Doug. But he didn't want to!

Then he had an idea. A preliminary encounter with Pete....see what sort of liberties the barber would take with a nervous longhair under the cape. Adam would have some fun.

Adam made the quick drive to Pete's and was pleased with the shop's outside appearance. It was a small, stand-alone place with a fake shingled roof like an old Dairy Queen trimming the top of whitewashed cinder blocks. Nothing fancy. It was a good, old-fashioned shops that only men dared enter. The striped pole whirled about signaling it was open for business; the shop name was painted across the large plate glass window in front in 1950's-style font. After turning off the car engine, Adam took a brush out and ran it through his long hair one last time. His hair looked so glossy and yummy. He was eager to start watching it fall to the floor, but he decided to ham it up a bit. Walk up to the door and then hesitate a bit before backing away and pacing around a bit, like he was nervous, even afraid. Then returning to the shop and gingerly pushing open the door.

The barber looked up from his work and greeted Adam, "G'd afternoon, it'll be just a few minutes, so have a seat."

Adam watched the barber out of the corner of his eye as he fidgeted with an old magazine that was laying on the small table nearby. The barber continued trimming the old geezer's wispy hair, but periodically his eyes darted to his next client. He seemed eager to move on to the younger man with the long, thick brown hair that fell in waves to the base of his collar. Adam ran his fingers through his hair, a habit he used to quell his nervousness. Furthermore, he reflected that running his fingers through his hair was an option that was quickly closing on him. Instead of silken, plush strands, the only thing he'd encounter up there would be stubble! Perhaps rubbing the head covered with a texture of sandpaper would be an effective substitute to his current nervous habit.

As soon as he thought about the induction cut, Adam got cold feet. That was insane! Much safer to request the taper -- even a short taper. He even considered making a dash from the shop....but talked himself into remaining. He need to feel the clippers, at least at his nape!

Finally, the geezer's haircut was coming to an end. Adam watched the barber take a duster to his collar and whisk away the white snippets that had crept beneath the cape. As the two men walked toward the cash machine, the barber signaled to Adam to have a seat in the same chair.

Adam stood and got a full view of his long hair in the large mirror that faced the chairs. He looked so out of place in the shop! Suddenly, it struck him how handsome and sexy he looked with the cascading hair....and how awful he might appear without it. The pretend nervousness of his little skit with the barber turned into a real, live panic. His palms grew sweaty and his feet felt frozen. By force of will, he made himself walk over to the chair.

Another old codger entered the shop just as Adam approached the chair and called out a greeting. He was obviously a regular. Adam found himself wanting to leave the shop. "Uh, I'm not in a hurry, if you prefer to attend to your regular client next," Adam suggested to the barber.

Pete, the middle-aged barber, replied, "He's not in a hurry either! No, you go ahead and take a seat. You are in much more need of a haircut than old Elmer there!"

Adam realized that the barber was keen to cape him up and tackle his long hair, to take it down! His hand trembled as he steadied himself on the arm rest and eased into the comfortable red leather upholstery.

Pete snapped the cape several times and cast it through in the air. In a flash he was pulling it about Adam's neck, albeit with some difficulty due to the long hair that hung to the base of Adam's collar.

"It's been a while since you've had a decent haircut," the barber began as he took out a comb and tried very unsuccessfully to run the tight teeth through the dense locks. "What'll it be for you today?"

Adam's tongue was tied. He still was unsure of the response he should give to the barber's inevitable question.

"Uh, I, uh.....well, it's that I need a shorter haircut. My boss at work isn't happy with how I'm coming across to our clients." His voice was infused with nervousness.

"So, you want a businessman's haircut?" the barber asked with a tone of affirmation.

"Well, not really...." Adam stammered.

"You don't want one, but that's what you came here for. Is that what you mean?" Pete responded with an insistent voice.

"I was thinking that if perhaps you could just cut it off my collar in back, and reduce a bit of the bulk, it would be enough," Adam suggested. He was wimping out!

"Off the collars and off the ears too, I imagine. A medium business taper is what you need," the barber stated as he reached for the clippers.

Adam gulped nervously, "Yes, a medium taper. It will look professional."

Holding a comb down on the long hair that covered the side of Adam's head, the barber brought the clippers up through the dangling mass and sliced off the first chink in the sexy longhair's coif. A clump of four inches fell away, revealing the first line of a nice, medium taper. Adam admired the rather longish side burn that the maiden swipe of the clippers uncovered.

A warm sensation enveloped Adam. His long-awaited haircut at the hands of a real barber was finally beginning! He feel of the clipper near his sensitive ear excited him. He liked seeing the huge clump of cut hair on the cape, and he liked the idea that the barber had begun to move him to exactly the type of haircut Doug had sported before his military-like scalping. Then it occurred to Adam that Pete was Doug's barber and knew the cut well.

The barber's second deft move, continuing the taper around the ear, confirmed Adam's thought. He was getting a very nice, crisp taper. Short and tidy around the ears, and hopefully long and lush on top! Adam watched with satisfaction as the barber continued transforming his playboy-like look into a more conservative length appropriate to his age.

"Is that short enough around the ears?" the barber asked after finishing the side.

"Yes, that's perfect. In fact, one of my colleagues from work who recommended your shop to me had his hair cut to this length and I liked it. Short and tidy around the ears and nape, but longer on top."

"Who is that?" the barber asked.

"Doug Hendricks. I believe he was just in here yesterday for a shorter summer cut," Adam mentioned.

"Oh, so you work with Doug!" the barber commented. "How did you like his new crewcut?"

"Very much. In fact, it's what got us started talking about haircuts, barber shops, and me coming here today. I admired his crewcut and he recommended that I come here myself," Adam replied. "He seems extremely happy with the ultra-short look even though he told me it was much shorter than he expected."

Suddenly the barber gripped Adam's head tightly and cocked it to the side. "Perhaps the medium taper is too long for you too?" he suggested. Silently, he brought the clippers to the side of the head, and this time began pushing them tightly up, up, up, up, up! All the way to the crown. Adam sat aghast. "A nice, crisp, very short taper for summer will be much better," the barber explained un-apologetically.

Adam stared aghast at the clipped strip up the side of his head. It brought to mind his commitment to Doug -- to have his head shaved bald. "Yes," he murmured. "Much shorter is much better. In fact, Doug recommended I get an induction cut. He said it would feel fantastic -- coming off and afterwards."

Adam tingled with excitement under the cape. He knew he had baited the barber and he knew what would come next!

"An induction cut?! Like a marine boot camp recruit?" the barber laughed. "I can certainly take you down to the 0000 length all over if that's what you want! It would be quite a change from this girlish, preening, long-haired look you pranced in here with!" The barber grasped Adam's tresses on the unclipped side and fondled them in a mocking tone. "Such a dreamy, adorable look, honey. Your set of electric rollers give wonderful body to your locks."

The geezer in the waiting area laughed at the barber's taking liberty to ridicule poor Adam.

Adam watched Peter reached for a very large set of clippers -- the largest hanging from the row off the bottom of the counter.

Unexpectedly, he swiveled the chair to face away from the mirror. Adam gripped the arm rest as he took the unexpected ride spinning away from the mirror. Then Pete grasped Adam by his flowing long hair that hung at the back of his head and yanked it back. "When I worked at Parris Island's barber shop, I got plenty of experience administering induction cuts. The buses would roll in, the hippies would file off and the sergeants would herd them into line right outside the barber shop door. Those were the best days of my life...."

Adam gripped the arm rests and braced for the unavoidable. 'Yes, treat me like a recruit.....' he thought to himself.

The clippers hit the hairline at the top of his forehead with a ferocity Adam had never experienced or imagined. The shriek was electrifying. Adam winced and gripped the chair even harder.

The barber unleashed his distaste of men with long hair and clipped furiously away at Adams shimmering locks. Hair fell in torrents to the cape and floor. Adam's cock stirred under the mass of cut hair that collected on his lap.

"Down to the wood," the barber announced. "Nothing left up here," he said, taking the liberty to rub his hand over the feel of very fine sandpaper. Then he thrust Adam's head down toward his chest and stripped off the rest of his long hair.

Adam imagined the piles of hair collecting under the barber's feet. But, he could not for the life of him picture what he would look like BALD! He felt excited and afraid to see what he looked like without hair.

The buzzing machine vibrated all over his head. Sheaves of his glorious hair fell away in instants. His head felt lighter and cooler as the barber clipped on.

Finally Pete snapped off the clippers. "Ready to see yourself, Baldy?" he asked.

Adam's voice trembled slightly, "I guess so. That is, yes, I suppose I'm ready."

"And, now, for the new you....." the barber announced as he slowly turned the chair to face the mirror.

Adam's mouth fell open at the sight in the mirror. He gasped. His bald head stuck out like a naked light bulb. The cape was full of huge clumps of his shorn hair.

"Bald to the bone, like the lowliest of recruits," the barber purred as he stroked Adam's naked head. "No more casually flipping about your girly-boy tresses!" he added as he gather a huge mass of cut hair and held it up like a hunting trophy. "Say bye-bye to your man-buns and pony tails!" The barber did not conceal his glee.

Adam sat silent and stunned. He could not or would not recognize the man in the mirror. The BALD man in the mirror staring at him with a blank look of a shell shocked dough boy.

The barber began unfastening the cape. "Since there's nothing left to cut, since it's all been taken off, you're haircut is officially over! My, my! Look at this mess on the floor. More hair off this head than a months' worth of clients combined."

Adam staggered to his feet. He came close to the mirror and gently touched his head. It was no mind trick. He'd been clipper-shaved bald! He could scarcely feel the stubble. How had he ever been talked into doing this insane thing? He glanced down at the floor and his emotions were flooded with remorse. His treasured hair....fit only now for the dust bin! But there was no going back. What was done, was done!

Then Adam noticed that the bald head, crowning the business suit he was wearing, was a much better combo than the shoulder-length hair he had walked into the shop with. He was sleek and clean and streamlined, just like he aimed to have his office be. The playboy/hippy look had never matched the office environment very well.

For the first time, he felt that the shaved head was empowering, much more in line with the steely, professional image he desired to project! He smiled briefly and murmured as he stroked his head, "My, those clippers took it right down to the scalp. I can't imagine a closer cut."

Pete, who had grabbed a broom and was now directing the cut hair into a massive pile on the floor quipped, "A closer cut? Oh, that's entirely possible with some warm lather, a razor and soothing hot towels. I can make that bald head of yours shine!"

"Make it shine?" Oscar stammered.

"Yep, scrape away all remnants of your hair. A chrome dome! Here, hop back into the chair. Elmer doesn't mind waiting a bit longer, I'm sure," the barber said tapping the red leather upholstery.

"Why not?" Adam remarked casually. In fact, he welcomed the opportunity to be back in the barber's chair so soon. The soft upholstery felt very inviting.

"Let me just finish tidying up in here," the barber said, scooping up the first of three heaping full dustpans of Adams' cut hair.

"Good riddance to that rats' nest!" Adam remarked. "I'll never have that much hair shaved off my head again."

"Because you'll never have that much hair on your head again!" the barber chirped.

"Precisely!" Adam remarked.

The barber warmed up some hand towels in a sink of hot water. "Now, get ready for a very relaxing experience." He draped the towels around Adam's head and then reclined the chair. "Close your eyes and imagine yourself walking confidently into work tomorrow with a shiny, smooth head."

Adam immersed himself in the experience. Even more enjoyable than the moist towels was the barber massaging thick, warm lather into his scalp. "Oh, this feels heavenly!"

"Just wait till I start scraping you clean!" Peter purred. "Removing all vestiges of your lush head of hair."

Peter worked in silence, scraping Adam clean -- free from all head hair. He carefully and tenderly wiped away the foam, then gave Adam a bit of a jolt with a patting of witch hazel.

Adam was ecstatic with the final product. "Oh, I can't believe this transformation!"

He gave Peter an ultra-generous tip and then went out to his car to wait for Doug's arrival. Wouldn't he be surprised? During the hour, he could not stop touching his head or looking at himself in the mirror.

Finally, he spotted Doug pulling into the parking lot. He jumped out of his car and went to meet his friend.

"Adam?!" Doug was astounded. "I half expected to not even find you here!"

"Well, what do you think?!" Adam pressed.

"Can I touch it?" Doug asked.

"I'd like that very much," Adam murmured.

"You are so hot, so sexy!" Doug whispered in his ear.

"Let's go into the shop and see what Pete can do for you too, my friend. The short crewcut was a good first step...." Adam said firmly, as he took Doug by the arm and led him into the barber shop.

---