Bart - Phase 2 - Off the ears by Manny

---

Bart - Phase 2 - Off the ears

I was surprised when Bart approached me several weeks later and asked, "Hey, Ned, do you think your could open your barbershop after school today? I could use a little tidying up." His hair still looked quite groomed, perhaps just beginning to lap over the collar a tiny bit in back. Something was driving Bart to needlessly entrust this thick mane of gorgeous hair to me once more and there was no way I was going to put off the request. My goal was to move Bart to phase 2 of his mane's divestiture. Another huge mound of his beautiful hair at my feet, looking so forlorn on my kitchen floor....that's what I had my sight on.

"Sure! How about you provide the beer tonight? In return, your treat will be an extra-long wash session!" I replied.

"Awesome. You're into Mexican beer, right? How about Dos Equis?" he suggested.

Hours later we were sipping beer as I admired Bart's thick lustrous locks, a deep brown mahogany that glistened with heath and vitality. Periodically he engaged in his habit of running his fingers through the silken mane. I couldn't wait to bend him over the kitchen sink....and then to move him into phase two.

As we entered the kitchen, I mentioned, "Oh, I've upgraded the barbershop experience since your last visit, Bart. I bought a nice large white barber's cape. You were such a hairy mess last time when we finished. And, for me, look, here's something new, as well," I said, opening the cabinet, "A barber's tunic! See it matches the cape, just like in a traditional barber shop. Here, help me button it up at the shoulder."

As Bart hovered close, fiddling with the new button hole, the intoxicating smell of his expensive shampoo made me feel woozy. "Oh, Ned! You look like a real barber!" he exclaimed once my tunic was in place.

"Too bad we don't have a professional washing station. Here, come over to the kitchen sink," I instructed.

I warmed up the water and then leaned him over the sink. With the sprayer, I worked water into his gleaming hair and then began massaging in a very generous dollop of shampoo.

"Oh, I love how this feels," he cooed softly. I pressed up closely to him and felt his hard muscles as I continued working my strong fingers through the thick eight-inch locks. If I had my way, another four inches would fall to my feet today!

"Are you enjoying the scalp massage?" I asked as I rubbed my fingers across his whole scalp.

"I could stay here all day," he responded.

"Now for a thorough rinsing, and then the new cape!" I announced.

Once I had him draped in white cotton, he looked like he was sitting in a real barber's chair. I pulled out my clippers first thing and plugged them in. He eyed them a bit warily but already knew their purpose was to 'clean up the neck'. At least that's what he thought.

No, today, the clippers would hit the nape and make their first foray into his precious mane! The floppy longhaired shag would begin to give way to a crisp taper! I combed through the long, damp hair. On the side, if hung down to jaw length.

"I was thinking, Bart....." I began getting him used to my plan. "Remember Mr. Gray's comment after your first haircut?"

He tensed up a bit under the cape. "About a more professional look?"

I let out a non-verbal concurrence. I continued combing through Bart's long, lush hair. "When I took it off the collar in back, you liked it. Remember? Today, I'd like to take it off your ears."

There, I said it! He was going to transition from long hair to a more standard man's length.

He squirmed in the chair. "Off my ears?" he stammered.

"Yes, I'll just snipped it off carefully around the ears. When I was washing your hair I noticed what nicely shaped ears you had and thought we should expose them. A bit of a shorter look, for sure, but I'll still leave the top very long and thick to showcase your beautiful hair. So, it'll be groomed carefully around the ears and at the nape, but the top fill be lush and sexy looking, like a male model."

"Or the way Johnny Depp is wearing his hair these days!" Bart chirped.

"Exactly!" I interpreted the absence of a refusal as assent.

Quickly, I slipped the blade of the shears under the dense mane of damp hair.

SNIP. SNIP SNIP. SNIP SNIP SNIP.

It was clear from the way Bart tensed that he was not fully onboard with this new initiative. But, I had made the decision for him. Hunks of cut hair rained down and soiled the cape. I could feel tension emanating from Bart. His reticence only fuel my adrenaline; the snipping did NOT stop. Off the back came another two inches, clearing the way from some real clipper action. Bart would receive his first short taper at the nape and introduce him to the stimulating feel of naked clipper teeth vibrating on the neck. The snipping continued like Sherman's march to the sea, clearing away all hair from Bart's right ear. Finally, I had established his new, much shorter length. I glanced down at the floor. It was beautifully strewn with Bart's cut, wet hair.

"How's it looking?" he asked nervously. "I mean this is going to be a big change."

"Nice! But there's a lot more bulk that needs to come off before you're giving Johnny Depp a run for his money!"

With a comb, a grasped a huge shank of hair and the side and scissored it off to a short length. The damp cut hair hitting the cape sounded like a timpani's crescendo in an orchestral piece. Grasp and cut, grasp and cut, grasp and cut. I was going to town taking down the sides and back to form the basic profile of a taper. Apart from the long forelock and hair on top, Bart was all but sporting Mr. Gray's recommended 'short back and sides'.

"Are you almost finished?" Bart whined.

"No, Bart. Hang in there. Just a bit more," I said. Then I decided to send him into panic overdrive! I picked up the clippers and snapped them on right in front of him, in full sight. I was not going to make a stealth attack from behind. Bart would have to just sit there, heart beating furiously, waiting....or perhaps making a lame attempt to turn it off.

"I don't think I want you to use those clippers, Ned," he implored.

This bit of a protest meant nothing to me. I clamped my hand on top of his head and rammed it forward. He was bowed by my firm grip.

"Bart, I can assure you this will feel even better than the hair washing. Ready?"

I placed the vibrating teeth on his neck and held it momentarily. I was tempted to clip his pretty hair aggressively short all the way to the crown, but decided to hold back. No, Bart needed to experience a proper phase two before I moved him on to phase three.

Suddenly, I moved the clippers tightly up through the nape and the scooped off a clump of hair into a classic low-and-tight taper.

"Did you like the feel of that?" I asked.

"Yes," Bart said with a bit of shiver in his voice. "Can you do it again?"

I complied, expanding the sharp taper to the full back of the head. Then I moved the clippers to the side and began crafting a very short, tidy taper about the ear. Bart's hair was so thick that the taper looked marvelous as it contrasted dramatically with the long top. Once I'd dried the hair with a blower, it would look even more fantastic.

"Mr. Gray is going to be quite pleased when he sees the new you, Bart," I said.

"Do I have a 'short back and sides'?" he asked.

"Not in the classic sense, but a very modern, trendy version of it," I assured him.

The styling session with the blow dryer made Bart's thick, full, gleaming hair on top look spectacular. I enjoyed styling it with the brush and also plying my fingers though the abundant locks. It had so much body, it easily stayed in place without the assistance of gel or hairspray.

Then I fondled the clipped neck running my finger up against the grain. That too felt great -- totally different from the top, but totally awesome.

"Do you like how that feels, me running my finger up the tapered nape?" I asked.

"Yes! Can I try?" he asked, sticking his hand out from under the cape.

He did so and smiled. "This is wonderful!"

Then, I held up the hand mirror. "What about this?"

"Oh, Ned!! You've missed your calling. I love it!" he gasped.

Then he examined the side and felt the tapered part around the ear. "This is quite short here," he noted.

"The contrast between the long top and the short sides and back is very nice." I paused a moment. "Personally, I would have liked a tighter taper and a shorter top, but I didn't want to push the envelope too much with you, Bart. Let's have another beer," I said, as I unfastened the cape.

I shook it gently, sending another tranche of Bart's hair to the floor. His eyes bugged out a bit as he surveyed the floor, "Wow, that's quite a lot!"

Then, very unexpectedly, Bart clamped a big bear hug on me. He unleashed the full strength of his muscular arms around me, almost crushing me lungs. "You're the best barber I've ever had!" He squeezed me tight and then tussled my business cut and grasped the longest part on top. "Getting a little long up here, Ned. When will it be my turn to play barber?"

Am image flashed in my mind of Bart in the tunic and me under the cape. I shivered at the thought.

Quickly, I reverted the attention to his hair as my fingers fondled his clipped nape. "Next time, I'm pushing the envelope with this taper, Bart."

There, he had been warned!

---