Curtains Fall by Manny

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I did a double take. Roddy, the fellow next door, was sporting a buzzcut!

I had just seen him the day before raking leaves in his front yard. I remember noticing how his thick blond hair blended in with the yellowing leaves and golden sunlight. He was handsome and radiating an angelic type glow in the midst of all the warm autumnal colors. The voluminous curtain bangs Roddy had sported were like a heart-shaped frame around his pretty-boy face -- white teeth and long lashes accentuating his deep green eyes. I remember wishing my own curtain bangs were as full and dramatic as his.

I stepped outside to "check my mail."

We waved and greeted each other simultaneously.

"I just raked yesterday and the lawn is already covered. Can't win," Roddy noted, shaking his head.

"It's that time of year," I replied.

Then I added, "You cut your hair!"

He blushed a bit and brushed his tidy pelt gingerly with his hand. "Yep, literally! I cut it myself. Buzzed it all off."

"Like the start of summer buzzcut my dad used to give me when I was a kid," I noted. "I guess your hair was getting on your nerves when you were raking."

"No, not really. It was boredom more than anything, I think," Roddy replied. "The raking wore me out, so I was just laying around on the couch in the evening watching TV. At some point, I got up to use the bathroom. Flipped on the lights and saw the hair mussed-up, looking a bit like a scarecrow. 'I'm getting a little tired of this look,' I thought to myself. The next thing I knew, I was plugging in the clippers! Chose the half inch guard and moments later I was pushing it down the top of my head. Felt great watching it all come off!"

He beamed, and then continued, "Do you like it? I can lend you my clippers if you're looking for a change too."

Me with a buzzcut?! The thought jolted me! I was fairly fussy about my coif. Although, I had to admit, the retro-style was getting a bit dated.

"Well, it certainly looks a lot more practical than the curtains you sported," I replied. "Sporty and no-nonsense -- very manly."

"Thanks. Wait, just a minute," Roddy said, ducking back into the house.

He emerged a few minutes later holding a small box. His clippers!

"You might want to shake things up too," he said, handing the box to me.

I let out a nervous laugh. "Oh, I rather think not," I said, refraining from taking the box.

"Go ahead, take it. I won't need them for a while, and you might change your mind this evening," Roddy encouraged.

The next thing I knew, I was carting the box with the clippers into my house.

As soon as I got inside, I opened it. There was a large tuft of Roddy blond hair in the box and a few random strands in the stout metal teeth. The lock of hair must have fallen into the box when Roddy was mowing off his locks. It looked so lonely, removed from the rest of Roddy's mane.

I picked up the clippers. I felt a curious excitement spreading through my body.

Suddenly, I rushed into the bathroom. Just like Roddy, in the mirror, I saw an image that seemed worn out and tired. The center-parted hair with chestnut-colored curtains falling down the sides on either side, lapping softly over the tops of my ears. I imagined pushing the clippers right into the soft mane of chestnut brown hair and watching the coif crash into the sink.

Curious, I plugged in the clippers and snapped them on.

The vibrating feel hit me with a jolt of excitement. To give myself a buzzcut! How shocking, how thrilling! It would be a new experience for me....

I turned off the clippers and took a hand mirror out of the cabinet beneath the sink. In back, I saw a nice full head of hair that lapped down to near the base of my collar. It would be hard to mow that off, I thought to myself. I wondered how Roddy did it.

Then I began brushing my hair. It had a lot of glossy sheen -- something I'd always been rather proud about. I brushed down the forelock. My, was it long! It hung past the tip of my nose.

My thoughts turned to the box the clippers had been in. Was there was a pair of barber shears in it?! I rushed back down to the kitchen with my curtained hair flailing about my face. There were two pairs, actually -- regular barber shears and thinning shears. I took them both back to the bathroom.

Well, I wouldn't buzz my head. But, why not snip my bangs shorter. I combed the long, heavy lock straight down again.

Then, I took the shears up to it.

At first, I meant to just take off an inch or so, well below the brow.

It was hard to see with the hair covering my eyes.

I opened the scissors. Yes, take it off at the brow, I thought.

Then, I felt a surge of energy. Snip it off above the brow. I dared myself! Whack off three inches! I mean, Roddy had buzzed his whole head. I could at least chop off some of the curtain.

My hand trembled. Three inches was a lot of growth! Three inches would take a long time to grow back...

SNIP!

A wad of hair fell into the sink! My heart raced. It felt good! I looked through the missing chunk of the veil of hair. The severed part was well above the eyebrow. About a half inch above the top of it. That was much shorter that I had planned to cut my bangs. My cock started to swell....

SNIP, SNIP.

Mounds of hair fell into the sink. Now the long bangs were half gone. I enjoyed the feeling of power and control in reducing the mighty forelock to a more manageable length.

SNIP, SNIP.

I finished chopping and had very dorky looking little-boy bangs! They were very bulky and short.

I blinked nervously as I took in the new look. What had I done?!

The sink contained a pile of cut hair.

I quickly brushed back the bangs. The short length was not as noticeable. But the length made the forelock seem bulkier.

I glanced at the thinning shears. Perhaps I had not yet finished for the day. I combed the bangs back down. They looked quite awkward, cut in a straight line across the forehead, half inch above the top of my brow.

I seized the thinning shears and started snipping into the bulk. Snip, snip....then I combed out some loose strand. Snip, snip, snip....more strands fluttered into the sink. I couldn't tell a whole lot of difference. So, I gave a few more vigorous whacks, higher up. Then, I combed out a fairly large clump. I gulped! Stop before it's too late,' I cautioned myself.

I brushed my hair back and thought it looked better with the length and bulk reduced, tamer without the puffy look on top and at the sides. Instead of the bulky curtains, I had a more mature look with a center part swept back.

I decided to stop while I was ahead. Luckily, I hadn't inflicted some irreparable damage to my hair style. I felt a bit proud of my barbering skill, actually. I continued to admire the new look in the mirror.

I grabbed a few fistfuls of cut hair out of the sink and tossed them into the trash. Then I tidied up and put the barbering tools back into the box to return to Roddy.

The next day Roddy was out raking leaves again. His big maple tree shed its foliage way before oaks. He looked handsome with his buzzed, minimalist look.

Time to check the mail!

As soon as I walked outside, he looked up and waved.

Seeing his shorn head, I suddenly wanted to discuss the self-cut with him again. I knew he would put some pressure on for me to shed my styled mane.

"Hi, Roddy, I wanted to ask you something," I called out.

He took a break from his raking. "What's up?"

"So, the haircut you gave yourself," I started. My heart beat fast and hard. "I was going to buzz my head last night, but couldn't figure out how to clip the back. I mean taking down the top and sides should be fairly simple...."

I couldn't believe I was actually feeding a growing fantasy....to give myself a buzzcut!

"Well, a bit of flexibility and acrobatics is all it takes. But, it's fairly easy. You can't go wrong buzzing everything to a single length. And, if you miss anything, I can quickly tidy things up for you," he offered, grinning widely.

"Turn around, let me see how it came out in back for you," I said.

He smiled and complied.

"Nice job," I noted. "Very uniform."

"Short hair feels great. Why not give yourself a buzzcut tonight?" Roddy asked.

"Oh, I'm still working up the courage. I think I'd feel a bit timid going into work with an amateur clip job," I said.

"Yeah, I get it. I endured a bit of ribbing. 'Run over by a lawn mower?' and that sort of thing. Some people think they're still in Jr. High!" he laughed.

"But, by and large, positive comments?" I asked.

"Nah, I wouldn't say that. Largely negative," he laughed some more. "And, that's fine. I sort of liked hearing them whine about 'my nice hair' and dismissing them, like I could care less what they thought."

Roddy was so cool. I liked his carefree personality. He seemed so confident and bold.

Then he focused closely on my hair. "Say, those long curtains...did you cut them?"

I blushed. "Yep, I decided to try some self-barbering. But, I got cold feet on the buzzcut, worried about botching the back."

"You can't go wrong, buddy!" Roddy insisted.

Back inside, I opened the box from Roddy again. The clippers were accompanied by several plastic guards. The smallest one was labeled "blending" and the others were measured in fractions of an inch (1/8, 1/4, 3/8, 1/2).

I snapped on the "blending" guard. I wondered how short my hair would be if I plunged that length into my curtains and drove it down the top of my head!! The big ½ guard would probably be a lot safer....

Just then, there was a knock on the door. It was Roddy. I motioned for him to come in.

"So, you're going to do it!" he exclaimed, seeing me holding the clippers.

"Well, eventually. I was just trying to decide on the size of guard. Which one did you use?" I asked him.

"The half inch length. But, next go around, I'm taking it down a notch to the 3/8 inch length," he said.

"Do you need the clippers back?" I asked, hoping he'd take the box from me.

"Nah, I'm going to wait a week or two," he answered. "But, I wanted to tell you, I have a barber cape in case you want to borrow that too. I don't use it because it's too hard when you're buzzing your own hair. But, if you want it, I can bring it over," he offered.

"That's all right," I said.

Then, Roddy stepped closer. I felt my pulse and heartbeat racing.

"You know, I could buzz you myself," he said, examining my hair. "Mow all this off..."

He reached up and stroked my hair momentarily. I couldn't believe he had taken the liberty of putting his hand atop my head, and gently grasping a lock of my hair.

Then, he pulled back as suddenly, "But, you probably want the thrill of buzzing it off yourself."

"I'm still thinking about it," I said, sounding like a bit of a wuss.

That night, it was so hard for me to fall asleep. I tossed about with a lot of jumbled, confused thoughts.

And, in the midst of images floating through my head was the barber box with the clippers and guards inside it.

I glance at the clock. 'If I am not asleep by 1:00 a.m., I'm doing it!' I told myself. I felt my plush mane. I was going to strip it off...

Of course, that deadline only cause me to be more alert, not at all drowsy. My eyes were locked on the clock. 12:47, 12:52, 12:58.

I jumped out of the bed and went straight to the kitchen.

I reached in and pulled out the clippers, along with the 3/8-inch guard. My hands quaked as I ran back upstairs to the bathroom, clutching the hair clippers.

I stripped off my night shirt and brushed my hair back. In a few moments I'd have a buzzcut!

Should I push the clippers straight back into the hair? I wondered what it would be like to bring the chattering teeth right up through the short bangs and watch the veil fall.

I combed the fringe straight down. The short bangs were my first foray into barbering. Now, I was ready to take off more with a new, more powerful instrument.

As I snapped on the machine, my hands started to tremble with excitement.

'Just do it!' I told myself. 'You are not leaving this bathroom until you are sporting a short buzzcut!'

I hesitated a bit before the teeth slipped behind the bangs and came straight up, severing them near the hairline. A huge clump of hair fell! I felt my groin swell. No turning back! With the clippers I mowed off the rest of the bangs. OMG! I was on my way.

I paused and snapped off the clippers. Tugging on the truncated fringe would not bring it back, I told myself. All that was left was to press forward with more shearing.

On went the clippers once more, and I quickly pushed them back across the top of my head. The vibration on my head felt electrifying! Hair fell in every direction! The thrill of seeing it and feeling it fall was sensational! Soft locks brushing my face as they plunged down into the sink. It was so short on top. I couldn't stop looking, feeling excited and worried.

I had fun removing all the length from the top. The vibration felt great and the hair gave no resistance. My glossy hair was filling up the bathroom sink.

Then I cleared away the sides. Oh, my! I was sporting a butch cut in the mirror. Looking so boyish!

Roddy was so right about the back. With a bit of a contortion, I was able to take the clippers straight up the back. More hair fell, but missed the sink and piled up on the granite counter. My lovely chestnut locks with fiery auburn highlights, was strewn in piles, helplessly about the bathroom.

I clipped and clipped and clipped. Loved the feeling of the teeth on my scalp, but was worried about the look. I looked so boyish with a clipped head!

My cock was on high alert. I felt addicted to the clippers.

A shorter guard!! I could do a quarter inch!! I rushed down to the kitchen and rummaged through the box. I found the blending guard â€" the shortest length, except for the naked metal teeth. 'Go for it!' Take it down to stubble!! My hand quaked. I started heading back upstairs, clutching that small piece of plastic that would give me an even shorter haircut.

A pang of panic pulsated through me. The office tomorrow! I rushed back to the kitchen, tossed the guard into the box and shut it up tight.

The scene of cut hair all over the bathroom, coupled with a strange man staring at me from the mirror, suddenly made my stomach churn with dread.

In the bathroom mirror, I was a man with a boyish face and a 'deer in the headlights' expression. OMG! What had I done?!

The feel of the buzzcut was incredible, but I was ambivalent about the look. I remembered what Roddy had said about largely negative feedback. I needed to prepare myself for ribbing. Could I pull off his cool 'I could care less about what you think' attitude?

I began trying to tidy up the bathroom. Cut hair â€" my hair! â€" was everywhere. So much of it, all lengths too!

I was unable to get almost any sleep that night.

In the morning, I dressed for work. The buzzcut looked out of place with my suit and tie. In the kitchen was the box with the shorter guards in it â€" I needed to return it to Roddy as soon as possible.

As I was in the driveway, Roddy called out from his garage, "You did it! Come here! Let me see!!"

I ambled over feeling rather vulnerable and awkward.

"Ha!! A butch! You got butched!!" he exclaimed.

Then Roddy gave my clipped head a vigorous rub. He was very close to me and I relished his attention.

"So handsome," he murmured as he examined my new look.

"Let's keep each other clipped short," he suggested.

"Perhaps we can use a shorter guard on each other next time the clippers get fired up," I replied.

"Let's make that this evening, as soon as we're home from work," Roddy said, before his lips kissed mine tenderly.

I was happy the curtains had fallen on our past relationship as just cordial neighbors.....

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