Entering the real world at eighteen by Tony

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Entering the real world at Eighteen!
My parents had separated when I was four and consequently brought up by my Mum, I used to see my Dad on few occasions as he moved to a different part of the U.K.
I was home schooled by Mum and we lived in a small village miles from a large town, I had just a handful of friends, although nobody that I knew really well. My Mum worked from home and obviously made a reasonable living. I think I had missed out on some things as a kid, but never had anything to complain about, all my clothes were on mail order, our groceries were delivered to the door, so contact with others was limited. Mum used to cut my hair on occasions, but it was long, I always liked her combing my hair for me in the mornings and had a great feeling when she washed it for me. Even when I got to teenage years, I still enjoyed her cutting and styling my hair, I didn't follow fashion really and noticed that other boys mostly had short hair. I knew at a younger age I was gay and used to research a lot on the Internet about it.
It came as quite a shock when Mum announced I was to go and live with my Dad, she said she felt I needed to see the world from another perspective and find myself a job, she felt there was no prospects for a young guy living here, so off I went to my Dads, it was strange at first as I hadn't had a great deal of contact with him before and now I was living in a city where I could go out and see what I had missed growing up in the sticks.
One of the first things Dad said to me was, you need to get a haircut, especially if your going to be looking for a job, he wasn't strict or anything like that and certainly wasn't forcing me to get it cut, but he did say it would look better short. So the following morning he gave me some money and said there are plenty of barber shops in the city, just find one you feel comfortable with and try it out, he said I know Mum has always cut your hair, so it might seem strange going to a barber shop.

I left the house and walked into the main part of the city, it certainly was so different here, noisy, busy and everyone rushing to get to places.
I found a small barber shop and went in, my hair was tied back in a pony tale, it was quite thick and straight, the colour is what's known as strawberry blond, very slightly gingery. The barber was quite a young guy, probably about twenty five or so, he stood up and greeted me, he turned the large barber chair into the shop facing the back and ushered me to sit. This was very new to me, so not really expecting what would happen next, I sat in the chair and had a cape thrown over me tucked in under my pony tale, the barber said, what would you like young man? I reached from under the cape and pulled the band from my hair, it fell loose over my shoulders, I told the barber this was the first time I had been in a barber shop as my Mum always cut my hair at home, he smiled at me saying, that's ok, I am not criticizing the way it's been cut, just relax and tell me what you want me to do, with that he picked up a comb and started combing my hair, it never knotted at all as it was silky and straight, it reminded me of the way Mum used to comb it gently.
I thought while he was running his fingers through it and trying different ways like to one side and parted to the centre, then said to me, how short did I want it or did I have any preference to style ? He then produced a book of pictures of different styles and lengths, saying to me, any there you like? He said, this is 2022 and at the moment skin fades or undercuts are in fashion, but if you want a longer style it's ok. I looked at him and said, let me leave it to you, your the professional, I really have no idea.

He said, ok, you know you want it short as you told me, let me do what I think for you as long as your ready to loose all this length, running his fingers through it and pulling it back slightly, I nodded to him and said, the only thing that used to annoy me before it got long was when my fringe used to fall across my eyes, he said great, now I know what to do.
I sat there feeling very relaxed and quite turned on by this very gentle and caring guy.
He started by cutting the top of my hair, running the comb through and holding my long hair between his fingers the cutting it, he spent probably ten minutes or more doing this and although I wasn't facing the mirror, I could feel my hair getting lighter and the fringe not hanging in my eyes, he worked to the right side doing the same, I did notice the lengths of hair being cut were very long and dropping to the floor, he then did the same on the left side before working to the back. As he combed my hair, I felt the difference in the weight, it was all very nice, I really loved the way he ran his fingers through each time he cut some more off.
He told me the next step was to use clippers to do the back and sides, I told him I had never experienced that before, so it was totally new to me, he said, don't worry, it will look great when it's short.

I sat there almost closing my eyes as it felt so good, the gentle hum of the clippers and the feel of them close to my head as he worked so gently, the only thing I noticed was how cold it was without my long hair covering my neck. He came to the sides and I could feel the clippers around my ears, then he changed to a small pair of clippers to detail the edges as he told me, he tilted my head to one side as he used the clippers to run up the side of my face, I didn't have to shave much, but did allow my sideburns to grow past the bottom of my ear, it felt like he had removed most of them. He then took a razor and started at the top of my ear shaving down past the bottom, then to my neck, it felt so strange, never before had I experienced this. Eventually he applied some gel to my hair and combed a side parting and combing the fringe back before spinning the chair to face the mirror.
I could not believe it was me facing the mirror, it was so different, my first short haircut in my life, it was amazing, I loved it so much, I was now a young man, ready to face the world.

The barber was great, I felt totally comfortable with him and I thought he did a great job, he said, come back in about four weeks, I paid him and went back home, Dad was so surprised when he saw me, he said, son you look great, I did not think you would cut your hair short, but it's really great, I think you will enjoy living here and making friends, and to be honest, I know your gay and I am totally ok with that.
There will probably be a second part.

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