Josh's barbers choice by P.J.

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Josh's Barbers choice - Part 1
I'd finally finished the Reno on the loft above my shop. I'd joined the local JCC and was just getting into enjoying its wide and varied array of fitness equipment , including an extensive section of free weights.
Being a barber, I'd decided to workout, Monday, Wednesday, and Friday, that would leave me weekends free, after the shop closed on Saturday of course.
I'd chosen this general area to open a shop, since I'd attended college at the nearby state university, I was more than familiar with the area. It also boasted a private well known university, and an army base all in the general area. And only minutes from the Canadian border in Northern upstate new York.

Sorry, I'm Jordan, J to my friends, I'm 27, and have been in the haircutting business since I graduated from barber college, after first getting a bachelors in business. I guess I've always wanted to be a barber but wanted to make sure I had a good business foundation before settling into my chosen profession. This location offered an endless supply of male coeds, and army boys to keep me practiced on all the latest cuts. long to extremely short.

The gym offered me a bit of relief from the shop, and a chance to check out some hot looking guys without any pressure, I also gay by the way. Not in a relationship at the moment, and not actively looking for one either.

I was halfway through my workout when I noticed a newcomer to the gym. Who wouldn't notice him I thought, tall, at least 6'-2", well built, and with the most interesting blond hair and haircut. His hair was the color of golden fried potato chips. He looked like he either had just had a cut, not too short, or he'd had a close cut that was maybe a month old. The sides and back were tapered from about a #2 up to an inch and a half or so at the part line, it was the top that was the most intriguing, it was cut to be thick and choppy, only about the same length as the upper sides at the crown, gradually getting longer as you came to the forehead to about two inches or so, it was the texture that caught my eye, it looked like a layer of wavy potato chips. Just gentle wavy curls, cut to overhang both sides, and VERY thick.
I was smitten. I wanted to get my hands on this guy... and his hair.
As luck would have it the gym was almost empty so when I got to bench pressing I saw my opening. Hey, could you spot me here for a few minutes, I asked him. I'll return the favor for you if you like I followed up with quickly. He said sure, no problem, and stood looking down on me with the most striking green eyes, arms at the ready, should I slip. He helped me set the bar in the rack after the last press, sensing me struggling a bit. Our hands touched on the bar, his lingering a bit long I thought. I got up, we shook hands, and he introduced himself, I'm Josh, and you are? I said, Hi, thanks, by the way, I'm Jordan, J to my friends. I'd love it if you'd return the favor he said, laying down on the bench. Absolutely, I said, smiling. This would give me an opportunity to study his haircut without needing an excuse, or being obvious studying the rest of him too.

After our initial spotting activity, we went about our respective workouts and didn't meet up again until we were standing at the mirrors/sinks in the locker room, fussing with our hair. He had towel dried his, and was fluffing the top with a brush. OMG, what a cut. I was working on mine, currently shaggy business man's cut with long bangs. I noted that I really needed to change things up, I was beginning to look like my incoming clients, not their barber.

We bid each other good day and departed the gym. Over the next weeks, we encountered each other almost every time I was at the gym, spotting each other , and exchanging a bit of gym banter. I was also keeping close track of his hair, it was growing out, it was the beginning of summer too. One day, he walked in the gym and I almost didn't recognize him. I was stunned, ands staring at him. The beautiful mop he'd sported was all but gone. It looked like someone had given him a very bad Caesar cut, the bangs weren't even straight. We made eye contact, and I asked him to spot me. I gave him a somewhat pained but inquisitive look, nodding at his head. I know, I know , it's really bad isn't it, he said dejectedly. Well, it depends, on what you wanted I guess, I said. He sighed, glancing in the studio mirrors surrounding us, I knew I needed a haircut, I'm new to the area, so I drove down to the mall in Watertown to do some shopping this past weekend. There was a barber shop there so I decided to try it. I asked for a trim, keep it short on the sides and trim and texture the top. This is what I got. Ah, I said, in that case, I agree with you, not looking good. Not much you can do, either get it all buzzed, I suggested hopefully, or let it grow out and get it recut. I guess I'll suffer along for a few weeks and wait and get a recut Josh replied with another heavy sigh. We spotted each other, finished our workouts, and were getting ready to leave when I walked over and handed him my business card. We'd never talked about jobs so the subject of my being a barber hadn't come up yet. Oh, God, he said, I'm thinking I should have come to you and I wouldn't look like this I presume, said Josh sheepishly. Well I don't brag, but yes, I wouldn't have you looking like that leaving my shop. Tell you what I said hopefully, you indicated you wanted to let it grow out a bit. When you're ready, stop at the shop and I'll fix it for you. Come on a Saturday, at closing time and I'll even buy you a beer after we finish if you like. I have a loft above the shop so It's not a long walk. Thanks J, he said, I'll consider it, he said as we walked out.

Over the summer Josh's bad cut grew out, along about mid August, he showed up at the shop one Saturday just as I was about to flip the closed sign on the door. My last customer, a G.I. with a fresh high and tight was just leaving. Josh, sort of stared at the guy as he walked away. Wow, that's short he murmured. I said, come on in. Yes, he's one of my regulars, comes in every two weeks to keep it fresh. One of these days I'm going to shave his sides and back, just to change things up a bit. Ready for a recut, I asked. Yeah, I guess, he replied. Have a seat Josh, I said patting the red leather seat on the old fashioned barber chair I'd picked up second hand and refurbished. The shop is done in and old fashioned Tonsorial Parlor type look. Lots of dark wood back drop, large mirrors, and black and white checked tile floor.

Nice place J he said, taking in the shop as he flopped down in the chair. I taped and caped him with a fresh white cape. He looked a bit anxious. I gave his shoulders a quick massage, saying don't worry buddy you're in good hands.

O.K. what would you like me to do today I said, thinking to myself, maybe a nice high and tight, shaved sides and back. I picked a comb out of the jar of blue sanitizing solution and dried it on a corner of the cape. Well, he replied, I kind of want it the way it was when we first met at the gym. Do you remember how it looked back then, he inquired? Yes, of course, I have to tell you , being a barber, haircuts on guys are the first thing I notice, and yours was very distinctive. So yes, I think I can get you back to that if you want.

I enjoyed a couple of minutes of playing with his thatch, combing it out, and running my hands through it. I have to tell you Josh, I said you have amazing hair, the color and texture are very unusual. I don't see it very much, even being here with the students and G.I's. And you do take very good care of it too, despite the bad cut. I know, I'm a bit self conscious, when it gets long, I'm often mistaken for a girl, it gets very wavy and full, this is about the shortest its ever been. Josh gave a soft moan as I massaged his head. God, I loved the feel of his hair. Thick and heavy, not very long though, maybe an inch or so of growth from the bad shearing he'd had. Oh, that feels so good J, do you have to stop, Josh moaned. Yes, if I'm ever going to get you back in shape. I combed him out again, and then picked up the clippers. O.K. how short, or long do you want the sides and back? What I don't know for sure is when I first saw you , was that a fresh cut or a month old one? Ah Josh said, it was fresh, I don't generally get is buzzed right down to nothing like that last hack job. O.K. I said, ( a bit disappointed that I wasn't going to be able to shear him right down ) I'd try to talk him into going a bit shorter than I remembered but didn't' want to scare him off by not listening to what he wanted.

How about I start out with a #2 at the bottom, and taper it out to about an inch at the parting? Do you want it to overhang both sides like it was back then too, I asked? I said, let's get that far, then we'll talk about the top and bangs. sound good? Well, Josh replied, that sounds a bit shorter that I used to get, but O.K. let's try it, you're the barber, will it look O.K., Josh asked? I laughed, Josh, you'd look good with the high and tight that walked out of the shop as you came in. You're a great looking guy, in great shape too, I might add. Josh blushed, really, a high and tight J? I don't think so, he stated emphatically, way too short for me. Before coming up here and interviewing, it was shoulder length. I got the cut you first saw for my initial interview at the university. I'm actually a shaggy type guy. I start teaching in a couple of weeks as one of their Economics professors, so I figured now was a good time to get this cleaned up. (Wow, I was impressed this guy had killer looks and brains too.)

I walked behind him, gently but firmly pushed his head down. Taking the clippers I slid them under the short fur fringe over hanging his nape, and began to plough through the dense short fur on the back of his head, stopping at the occipital bone. I heard him elicit a soft groan as I advanced from the nape up. The 1inch long fur slid down onto his shoulders. After several more passes, I had the lower part of the back reduced to a nice taper. Next, deciding to taper high around his ears, his fur was just breaking over the top of his ears. As the clippers carved out around each ear, the ear fully emerged again. I marveled at how good they looked. Soft dense mounds of his golden hair fell away and landed in his lap with each pass. It wasn't long by any means, just very thick and heavy. You're not going to short again are you J? Josh whimpered. No buddy, it'll look great I promise. The basic clipping now done, a not insignificant pile of hair in his lap. I picked up the scissors and comb and began shaping up the upper part of the taper, leaving it heavy near the parting to support the overhang, more hair into his lap though. This is shaping up great Josh, if I do say so myself. I rubbed my hand up the soft velvety pelt I'd left on the back of his head. It felt so good. Josh moaned softly. Hmm did I have a fellow hair fetisher here I wondered to myself. Doing O.K. Josh, I asked. Oh yeah, he cooed. I reached down into his lap and scooped up a small handful of his shorn locks, saying see, this isn't much off now is it. I really was checking to see if the bulge I saw was real or imagined. It was real. I finished up tapering and cleaning up his neck line and around his ears, he was looking HOT, and I wasn't done yet.

I ran the comb through the top again, wishing there was more here to cut. O.K. man, how much do you want me to leave up here, and how long to you want your bangs? He really didn't have much in the way of bangs yet, I was thinking. They only came halfway down between the hairline and eyebrows now. I figured I'd be leaving them at about that length. Josh looked in the mirror, turning his head from side to side, well, it looks good so far, you decide. Hmmm, Barbers choice huh, I replied. You sure you want to do that? You saw the last guy right I said teasingly. J, I'm pretty sure you aren't' going to scalp me again like I was, right, Josh said. Your right of course, I said, I'll get as close as I can to the original Josh look when I first met you. I sprayed him with some cutting water to help me get through the thick bulk on top. I proceeded to take less than half an inch off, since this part was what had needed the most time to grow out. The major part of cutting the top was achieving that great texture he had. The layer of potato chip look. I gave him a heavy choppy texture and made sure the overhang was pronounced on both sides, heavy and thick. That what gave his cut a distinctive look. That and the length at the top of the taper.

I have to say that as a barber I wasn't a real fan of the current long top, shaved sides, the kids wanted these days but, the customer is always right, and god knows I did a lot of those. Thank god Josh was not asking for one of those cuts.

I got the blow drier out and dried the top to see how I'd done with the texturing, pretty good for the first time cutting his hair. The top lay in soft chunky waves pretty much as I'd hoped. His hair was so thick I didn't need to go deep with the scissors, and the wave was natural. I wondered what it looked like when it got long. I then told him to get up and go back to the wash station, I wanted to wash it and make sure I had the look right. The shop was made to look old fashioned but had a couple of concessions to modern hair cutting, like the wash sink. Kids these days want a bit of pampering even in a barber shop. ( The things we barbers had to do sometimes, sheesh)

I washed Josh and double conditioned him. I wanted to make this a great first impression for him. I wanted more opportunities to get my hands in his mop for sure. We went back up front, I dried and styled his new cut, I practically didn't need a comb or brush, and no product required for this hair, Wow. He looked fantastic. Just a bit different from that first meeting cut I saw on him. I held up the hand mirror so he could see the back. His hands came out from under the cape, he ran them up the freshly clipped back and sides, and moaned again, this feels great J. I never thought I'd like shorter hair, wow. It's a bit shorter than I remember it being before I think, but wow, it looks great, thanks! I uncapped him, brushed him down, and said thanks, I always like to leave 'em happy, I said, smiling. Now how about coming up stairs and checking my place out and having that beer I promised?
O.K. sure, Josh said, with a smirk on his face. Hmm, what was that smirk all about I wondered.

I got 2 beers out of the fridge, handed one to him, and proceeded to give him the 10 cent tour. The place wasn't' that big actually. I had a large front room, combo living, dining, and kitchen, and 2 bedrooms in the back with separate baths, one set up as a guest room, and the other was the master with a huge bath and walk in shower. We finished the tour, and settled back on the couch. J, Josh said as he ran a hand through his hair, I have to say thanks again, I was a bit nervous coming over here, but, wow this is a great haircut, I really like it. How much do you charge, I plan to be a faithful customer he said, smirking again. No charge for the first one, I said. Let's see what you want next time and we'll go from there O.K., I replied. Josh said, well, no, I don't like owing anyone anything, how about if we barter then if you won't take my money, Josh suggested. What did you have in mind, I asked. Nobody had ever offered to barter with me for haircut, what could he offer I thought. He's a university professor. Well how about this, Josh replied, reaching over and undoing my belt and jeans, leaning over to see what they contained. I was stunned, was this really happening I thought, not really sure I wanted to take things to the next level like this? You're a great barber J, let me show you what I'm good at, Josh said, reaching inside my skivvies. I grabbed his head, running my hands through that amazing textured top shag, OMG, I could touch this all day I thought, before he dove into my crotch. Josh, you don't have to do this you know, I said, not able to contain myself, smiling down on him. Oh, yes I do, J, and unless I miss my guess, you're going to be quite happy with this form of payment.

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