Growth: Part 2 by Jamiesstories2

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A/N: I’ve kept you all waiting long enough.

Adult content ahead. Thank you, Fantasy Weaver, for taking the time to help me out with the smut in this chapter.

This is the continuation of Growth. Please read the previous parts before reading this.

Growth: Part 2

It was finally Saturday. The week had moved in slow motion for Alex as the day approached.

After Alex and Dan had exchanged numbers, the two men planned for Alex to come to Dan’s apartment around one in the afternoon. It was only nine when Alex got up, but he was already feeling a familiar mix of nervousness and excitement for the event. Jeff, the more perceptive of Alex’s two roommates, seemed to sense more was going on than a simple "hangout with a friend," which was what Alex had told him, but he assumed that it was just because Alex had caught feelings for his coworker. Alex had kept completely silent about the fact that he was going over to Dan’s apartment to get a haircut, he knew it would probably just cause his roommates to tease him and bring up more speculation than it was worth.

As Alex and Jeff simultaneously got breakfast for themselves, Jeff could tell Alex was more tense than usual.

"You alright buddy?" He asked casually, and then teased, "scared to spend time with your secret crush?"

"Shut up, Jeff," Alex responded, trying to sound casual, but failing miserably.

"That’s it, isn’t it?" Jeff continued, "you wanna f*** him!"

Alex tried to deny it once again, but Jeff was right, and they both knew it. Of course, there was something more behind Alex’s desire, but Jeff never would’ve guessed that.

When, later in the day, Alex threw his hair up in a quick ponytail and made to leave, Jeff yelled behind him, "Have fun with your boyfriend!"

Alex, although he feigned annoyance at these remarks, was comforted and distracted by Jeff teasing him like it was any other Saturday.

As Alex made his way to the address, he considered what he was getting himself into. Although he trusted Dan, it was mostly his d*** doing the thinking. He had only known him for one day, and it was very possible that Dan was only flirting with him to get him in a vulnerable position.

His fears reminded him of years earlier when he was scared of getting a haircut from his sister. Were they just as irrational as before or was Dan really someone who could not be trusted? Alex guessed there really was only one way to find out.

XXXXX

The apartment door opened to reveal a smiling Dan standing there. Even though he was just in jeans and a T-shirt, the clothes seemed to be tailored to him, revealing how fit he was without being overly tight. Alex suddenly felt incredibly inadequate.

"Right on time Alex," Dan said smiling, and stepped back, "come on in."

Alex entered the apartment and got a handle on his immediate surroundings. It was a modestly sized one bedroom, with an open area serving as both a living room and dining room. Through a doorway in the back wall of the dining room, Alex caught sight of the kitchen. More specifically, the chair sitting in the middle.

Suddenly, all of Alex’s nerves came flooding back twofold, and he started to become quite apprehensive about the haircut he had planned for himself. Dan came up behind him and caught sight of him staring at the kitchen.

"You’ve noticed my setup, I see," Dan joked. Alex turned back and tried to pretend he was comfortable, but he could see by the change of expression on Dan’s face that it had not worked.

"We don’t have to do this, you know?" Dan said, trying to make sense of Alex’s reaction, he continued, "We can just hang out if you’d like."

As much as Alex loved the idea of just hanging out, he refused to let his fear get in the way of things; he was going to get a damn haircut and he was going to enjoy it.

"No, I definitely need this trim. I’m just a little nervous, no need to worry," Alex tried to reassure Dan.

"Alright then," Dan replied; he smiled once again, but there was a bit of concern behind his eyes that had not been there before. Dan put his hand on Alex’s shoulder and gently led him towards the kitchen.

"I thought we could do the haircut first and then have some lunch," he proposed.

"That sounds great," Alex replied, somewhat absentmindedly.

The closer he got to the kitchen, the more nervous Alex got. He felt his pants begin to tighten as the thought of him getting a haircut became closer and closer to a reality, but it was overpowered almost completely by crippling nerves.

Dan could sense by the tension in his shoulder that Alex was not nearly as close to fine as he said he was, but he decided not to mention it, for now.

As Alex and Dan crossed the threshold into the kitchen, Alex caught sight of Dan’s setup on the counter next to the chair. It looked functionally the same as his sisters, a spray bottle, brush, a few hair clips, a pair of shears, and clippers without a guard. Alex was experienced enough now to know the function of clippers-- even with a hairstyle such as his, it was important to clean up stray hairs on the back of his neck. However, he also knew what else clippers could easily be used for.

Once the men were in the kitchen, Dan removed his hand from Alex’s back and stood behind the chair, as if signaling that it was now time for him to sit down, but Alex, instead of sitting, could only seem to stand and look, feet stuck as if in a foot of dried concrete.

"Alex," Dan started, with a concerned tone to his voice, "are you sure you want to do this?"

"Dan, I-" Alex began, but Dan cut him off.

"Don’t tell me you’re ‘only a bit scared,’ Alex, I can tell you’re plenty scared. And that’s fine, but if you don’t want to go through with this you have to tell me. I don’t want to ruin our budding," Dan paused for a moment, "relationship."

As soon as Dan used the word "relationship," Alex felt as if he was in good hands. Rational or not, he had to start trusting Dan at some point, right?

"Dan, I know I look really nervous, but…" Alex trailed off, trying to explain himself without giving his fetish away too, "this is just how I am about haircuts, the sooner we get started, the better I’ll be."

"If this is how you always are about haircuts, I feel bad for your sister," Dan joked, clearly letting go of some of his nerves about Alex. Alex rolled his eyes in response.

"Do you mind if I take off my shirt?" Alex asked, partially because he didn’t want to get hair on his shirt, and partially because he wanted to get closer with Dan. Dan gave Alex a cheeky grin.

"That’s fine with me."

Alex removed his shirt and gingerly took a seat in the chair. Dan placed the towel around his shoulders and let his hands linger for a moment as a calming gesture.

"How much do you want me to cut?" Dan asked, making Alex tense up once again.

"Um, I’m not really sure, not- please not too much, okay?" Alex said, with a not insignificant amount of fear in his voice.

Dan, who was checking all his tools at the counter beside Alex, came behind him once again and removed the rubber band from his hair, letting it flow freely down the back of the chair. He ran his fingers gently through Alex’s hair a few times as a calming gesture. Little did Dan know, this gesture was doing much more than calming Alex down.

Dan then took a lock of Alex’s hair and brought it over his shoulder so Alex could see it. Dan motioned about an inch above the ends of Alex’s hair, figuring it would account for the majority of the dead ends.

"Is this a good amount to cut?" Dan asked, allowing Alex a moment to reflect on the placement of his hand.

Alex took a deep breath and then nodded, seemingly unable to form a full sentence. Unbeknownst to Dan, this was not only due to Alex’s fear, but also due to the amount of willpower it was taking to control his arousal. Dan patted Alex on the shoulder once more and then retrieved the brush and began to detangle Alex’s luscious mane. Alex took quite good care of his hair and it took Dan no time at all to detangle what was there, but Dan continued brushing anyway. The bristles of the brush seemed to feel just a little bit better every time they scraped against Alex’s skull, and it took every ounce of self control not to simply lean into the sensation.

Eventually, Dan began to section the hair, transitioning from a brush to his fingers. Alex shuddered each time Dan’s nails brushed across his scalp--the slightest sharp sensation before the dull warmth of Dan’s fingers, it, in itself, was almost too much. Dan used a clip to pin the upper half to the top of Alex’s head while keeping the bottom out, then retrieved the spray bottle, a comb, and shears. Alex, seeing that the scissors had been retrieved, became simultaneously more afraid and aroused. All Dan could see, however, was the tension building up in Alex’s neck, and he decided it might be worth it to provide a bit of extra support.

"I’m about to start cutting, would you like to talk about something else?" he asked kindly.

"Talking sounds good," Alex replied quietly.

So as Dan began to spray Alex’s hair with water, he started to ask questions.

"So, tell me about your family," Dan prompted as he took the first cut, removing an inch of beautiful brown hair from its owner’s head. Alex tensed at the sound, his fear and arousal bubbling up to a degree even greater than he thought possible. A dangerous warmth filled Alex’s gut, and he decided he better start talking before his situation got any more dire.

Alex began to tell Dan about his family and, of course, the story of his parent’s divorce. As Alex talked, Dan used his first cut as a guideline, making his way across the back of Alex’s hair, cutting away the inch-long ends. Chestnut tufts began to litter the floor as Dan worked efficiently. Alex flinched at nearly every snip of the shears, but as the cuts became more frequent Alex became less nervous, and instead became lulled by the rhythmic sounds, starting to enjoy the experience more.

Dan watched as the tension slowly drained from Alex’s neck and, although Alex was unaware, he could also easily see his enjoyment. Dan was…interested, but decided that if he and Alex were going to talk about it, they could do it later, maybe with less clothes on.

Dan let the second section down and decided to tease Alex a bit, nothing too mean, Dan decided, but something that could certainly increase his enjoyment of the cut. As he began to trim Alex’s hair once again, Dan used his fingers to hold what he had cut and threw each piece into Alex’s lap. There were no mirrors to be found, so the only way Alex could know exactly what was going on was through judging the amount of hair in his lap, an amount that was growing by the second. Alex inhaled sharply, as Dan dropped a particularly thick snippet of hair between Alex’s legs, but Dan could also see it had the desired effect, by the increase in the, now obvious, bulge in Alex’s pants.

"How much hair are you cutting off?" Alex asked, nervously.

"An inch, just like you asked," Dan responded, pretending as if he hadn’t done anything intentionally.

"Okay," Alex responded, more quietly.

Dan suddenly feared he had gone too far. It seemed, to him, as if Alex’s fears were holding him back from truly enjoying the experience.

"Really, Alex, I’m just messing with you. You can feel the back if you’d like."

Alex only smiled, however, feeling reassured by Dan’s kind words.

"I can’t believe-" Alex started, as Dan walked in front of him, but he was stopped by Dan’s finger on his lips,

"Shhh, don’t talk about it," Dan joked, before realizing what he had just done. Sparks flew as he slowly removed his finger from Alex’s lips, their faces mere inches apart.

Dan backed up and moved to the other side, giving Alex a grin while moving out of his line of sight, as if to signal that the interaction was far from over. Dan finished the cut more quickly, now in a hurry to move onto other activities, but made a point to throw the snipped tufts into Alex’s lap once again. This time, the gesture was more than welcomed by Alex and there was a subtle, mutual understanding of Alex’s sexual taste. After a few more snaps of the shears, the majority of the cutting was done, only one step was left. Dan set down the shears.

"You should go look in the mirror before we clean up your baby hairs," Dan said.

Alex detected the slight hint of nervousness in Dan’s voice, as if he cared about how Alex liked his hair.

"I’ll be right back," Alex replied, taking a deep breath before rising and heading to the bathroom. Whatever Dan had done, it couldn’t be undone now.

There was a moment of anticipation, he walked through the dining room and into the bathroom, which was located off a hallway that led to Dan’s bedroom. The mirror was to his right, all he had to do was… his hair looked f***ing great! Dan had taken off an inch, as requested, but he had done it with greater skill than his sister wielded. There were soft layers in his hair, stopping it from looking like a blunt amateur-level cut. The hair overall now had a bit more motion and style to it, making the long hair look intentional and more mature than before.

Alex returned to the kitchen as Dan was beginning to sweep up the clumps of hair from the floor and dust off the chair. Alex cleared his throat and Dan looked up, smiling,

"How do you like it?"

"It’s amazing," Alex responded, still slightly in awe at how much a deft touch could improve his hair, "I love it." Dan chuckled and seemed slightly more relaxed than before, he patted the back of the chair.

"Let’s finish you up," he said. Alex felt his nerves returning to him once again, this was the part he liked the least, even with his sister. He sat down in the chair once again and silently allowed Dan to push his head down towards his chest. Dan remembered Alex mentioning that his dad used to buzz his head, and made a mental note to be extra cautious. Dan, reaching for the clippers, paused for a moment, and then returned to his post behind Alex.

He reached out, allowing his fingers to dig into Alex’s hair, more possessively than he had previously let himself grab at the seated man. He pushed his fingers through the mane up to the crown of Alex’s head, before dragging them back down and up again, allowing his nails to gently scrape along Alex’s scalp as he did so. Applying more pressure, he dragged his fingers towards either side of Alex’s head, finally making contact with his tension-filled temples.

The massage had the desired effect, and Dan watched as the muscles in Alex’s shoulders, neck, and temples melted in his deft hands. After a few more minutes of relaxing Alex, Dan removed his hands from their positions deep in his mane and reached over to the counter to retrieve the clippers. A quiet, yet still quite unholy noise left Alex’s mouth as Dan let go of his head, the seated man immediately missing the presence of fingers deep in his hair.

"Alright Alex," Dan said, attempting to inject sweetness into his tone, "just relax and it’ll be over before you know it." Dan then grabbed ahold of Alex’s thick mane, pushing it out of the way, before turning on the clippers with an audible click. Dan could feel Alex tense up again and decided, instead of turning the clippers off once again and returning to the massage technique (as tempting as that sounded), to simply move fast. He placed the clippers upside down at Alex’s natural hairline, so he could simply pull down until all the fuzz was gone. Dan then repeated this motion, making sure he had fully cleaned up Alex’s neck.

Finally, Dan turned off the clippers and came around to observe Alex from the front. Alex slowly lifted his head, and Dan took the moment to admire his work. With a few day’s worth of beard shadow and his beautiful mane of hair, Alex looked, to Dan, less like a nerdy teacher and more like a rugged, sexy man.

Alex rose from his seat, only then realizing that he was inches from Dan. In the chair, leaned back, it had not been an issue, but, as he stood, he nearly came chest-to-chest with his barber. Alex could smell Dan’s woody cologne; he could feel the heat coming off of Dan’s body, or was that heat coming from inside of himself?

Dan took Alex’s chin firmly in his hand, running his thumb along Alex’s jaw. And before Alex even had the chance to whisper "yes, please," Dan had moved in, pulling Alex’s face towards his and touching Alex’s lips with his own.

Then again, and again, and again, and Alex could taste the passion on Dan’s lips, the lust on his tongue. The hands Alex had been silently begging for since they left dug back into his hair and pulled. Hard. Alex whimpered, but pain just as quickly turned to pleasure as Dan moved from Alex’s red and swollen lips to his exposed neck, kissing, licking, and nibbling (Alex was too distracted to tell when one action turned into the next) his way from the Alex’s earlobe to his collarbone.

Dan kept one decisive hand in Alex’s hair while the other, leading the way, grasped for the buckle of Alex’s belt; Alex, taking the hint, began fumbling with the hem of Dan’s t-shirt, needing to see the rest of Dan’s body more than he needed air. Dan pulled his arms away from Alex for just a moment to help Alex remove his shirt, before returning to Alex and pinning him against the wall, closer than ever-- chest to chest, warm skin to warm skin.

Alex decided in that moment to stop keeping track, to stop keeping track of what he was wearing (very little), to stop keeping track of how, exactly, they made it from the kitchen to the bedroom, to stop keeping track of exactly where Dan’s mouth was, because it seemed to want to devour every inch of his body. The lips continued to travel down Alex’s chest, leaving a path of bite marks and bruises in their wake. Somehow, before Alex could even process their new location, Dan was dragging his tongue along Alex’s pelvic bones, hinting at what was about to come. Dan, finally, grew tired of teasing and licked his lips before taking Alex in his mouth. Alex, overexcited and readily unprepared, bucked his hips at the sensation, only pushing himself deeper down Dan’s throat. Dan’s tongue wrapped greedily around its prize, tracing every detail of Alex from the bottom to the top.

Alex had done sex before, Alex had done sex with men before, but this was new. Sex with Dan, Alex quickly learned, was raw, rough, full of a need so thick you could taste it. He leaned into it, and out of the way-- Dan knew what he wanted, Dan seemed to know what Alex wanted, and Alex was willing to let him take the lead. Alex let the sensation of it all overpower him, until their heat, Dan’s skin, Dan’s hands, Dan’s devilish lips all became one continuous wave of pleasure, blending further and further together until everything exploded in a wave of color and electricity. Alex felt his back arch involuntarily, hips racked with the power of his ecstasy, undulating throat muscles swallowing what he gave to Dan. Alex, then, sensing that maybe he should do something to repay his lover, reached down in between Dan’s legs; it did not take long for Alex to feel similar spasms to his own running through Dan’s body.

The men laid back in Dan’s bed. Alex had no concept of how much time had passed or what had, really, just happened. All he knew is that he never wanted to stop doing whatever he had just done with Dan. He felt a hand around his waist and turned to face the man lying beside him.

"I like your hair," Dan joked, quietly, his voice slightly gravelly.

Alex was unsure of how to respond, thinking back to how all of this had started, his mind running through the entire haircut at lightning speed.

"You’re okay with…" Alex trailed off, waiting for a sharp reproach, the moment where Dan called his fetish strange or unnatural. Instead, Dan chuckled.

"It is what it is, Alex. None of us control what we… prefer."

XXXXX

By some miracle, Alex made it home. He was incapable of paying attention to where he was going, his mind thoroughly tangled in thoughts of Dan and Dan alone. There was someone who knew him, all of him, and accepted him as if it was all…normal.

When Alex finally returned home, Jeff took one look at him and started laughing.

"You really did get laid, didn’t you?"

Alex took his glasses off and rubbed the bridge of his nose in fake exasperation.

"And what if I did? I think you’re just mad that I have a better sex life than you."

Jeff only smiled and offered high-five to a less than enthusiastic Alex.

"Congrats."

"You act like I’ve never had sex before."

"All I know is that you haven’t had any in three months," Jeff replied, clearly enjoying teasing Alex. Alex lifted his head to the sky and groaned in response.

As Alex left the living room and went down the hall to his bedroom, he snuck a glance in the bathroom mirror. His hair still looked perfect, he didn’t think he could be happier than he was at that very moment.

XXXXX

By the time Monday rolled around, Alex was still coming down from Saturday’s high. The speed of that come-down was accelerated, however, by Alex’s meeting schedule for the week, which promised him a team meeting, first thing Monday morning; meaning Brendon, first thing Monday morning. Alex had noticed, over the past week, that Brendon really liked to trap him in uncomfortable conversations, often about his hair. ‘Joke’s on Brendon though,’ Alex thought to himself, ‘My dad’s been doing that for years and I haven’t cut my hair yet.’ Even still, Alex didn’t feel well prepared to handle him so early in the morning. This, of course, meant that when he entered the meeting, the classroom was empty besides Brendon. Perfect.

"Alex," Brendon started, with a smile. If Alex was being honest, just the way Brendon said his name gave him a bit of a fright.

"Brendon," Alex replied, willing himself to sound as inoffensive as possible, "How was your weekend?"

"It was alright, and yours?"

"It was quite good, thank you."

Brendon paused for a moment, before speaking again.

"Didn’t you say something about a haircut?"

‘Oh Lord, here we go again.’

"Yes I did," Alex chirped, still trying to keep up the chipper attitude, "I’m quite happy with it, myself."

"Hmm," Brendon replied at first, a bit of a disappointed tone slipping into his voice, "it doesn’t look like you’ve gotten a haircut, that’s all."

"Well, it’s a bit hard to tell when my hair is in a bun," Alex replied, refusing to give up his single shred of confidence. Alex gestured towards the bun in question, signaling he could let it out.

Brendon sighed, and allowed his gaze to become a little colder.

"No need, I’ve realized I like it less when it’s out. I’m sure you didn’t cut as much as I would’ve liked."

Alex did his best not to back down, but the iciness of Brendon’s tone was making it harder by the second. As he was struggling to come up with a response, however, Brendon’s second favorite target walked into the room.

"Ben," Brendon said, turning to his latest victim, "How was your weekend?"

Ben seemed to take Brendon's steely tone in step, and didn’t miss a beat.

"It was great! Saturday I had a lovely picnic with my boyfriend."

Brendon was thrown off guard, clearly more acclimated to the stuttering mess Alex became under questioning, and Alex, feeling appropriate schadenfreude, had a hard time not laughing at Brendon’s expression. As if seeking an easier mark, Brendon returned his attention to Alex.

"That sounds like an… interesting weekend Ben. Alex and I were just discussing his haircut."

"Oh, really?" Ben responded with a warm smile, and turned towards Alex.

"Would you like to see it Ben?" Alex asked, invigorated by the strength Ben exuded, "I offered to show it to Brendon here, but I don’t think he likes my hair very much."

Brendon’s expression only served to give Alex more courage, he was clearly surprised with the lack of mumbling in Alex’s response.

Ben’s smile grew brighter.

"I’d love to see it Alex."

Alex reached up and released his hair from his bun, allowing his pride at his newfound confidence to outshine his anxiety.

"How do you like it?" Alex asked Ben.

"Wow, Alex. It’s really nice, I love the layers," Ben replied, the two men playing off one another.

"Thank you," Alex replied, putting his hair back up, attempting to beat Brendon’s inevitable frightening remark. The comment about Alex’s hair never came, however, the gap it left being filled by something much worse.

"I didn’t know you were gay too, Alex," he said. It was clearly meant to be a joke at Ben’s expense, but it set off an uncontrollable spiral of anxiety in Alex’s head.

Ben, sensing Alex’s distress, stepped in to save the day.

"Liking compliments doesn’t make you gay, Brendon, it makes you happy."

Alex chuckled, mostly out of relief.

"He’s right," Alex attempted to joke, but it came out a bit weak.

Brendon seemed like he was done, however, and left the pair to talk, supposedly so he could get some water.

"You know," Ben started, Alex looked up, "Dan’s skill with a pair of scissors will never cease to amaze me."

"Wh- What?" Alex asked. How could Ben know Dan cut his hair?

"Your hair, it looks quite nice," Ben explained.

"He- I- He didn’t-" Alex stopped himself, he knew he was just digging a bigger grave.

"Dan told me you two spent some time together on Saturday. When I saw your hair I had my… suspicions," Alex blushed, Ben continued, "To be honest, you kind of just confirmed them."

"Lying is not one of my strong suits," Alex muttered.

"A good quality, in my humble opinion," Ben reassured, pausing for a moment before speaking again, "Dan said you were getting to know one another, may I ask how well you two got to know one another?" It sounded like a fairly innocent question, but Ben’s gaze implied a deeper meaning. Suddenly, Alex understood.

"Very well," he responded.

Ben chuckled.

"You’re certainly his type."

Alex blushed, but was suddenly filled with a strong curiosity regarding Ben and Dan’s relationship.

"Have you ever-," Alex stopped, it was stupid, he told himself, but he wanted to know, "have you ever gotten to know Dan as well as I have?"

Ben laughed in response.

"No, we’re just friends, mostly due to… extraneous circumstances."

The men grew silent, both unwilling to address the elephant, rather, the homophobe in the room.

Alex began to grasp what it would mean if he didn’t come out, not only for himself, but for Ben.

"Ben," Alex began, "you shouldn’t be alone."

Ben brushed off Alex’s offer as quickly as it had come.

"I’ve been at it alone for a long time Alex, and he already doesn’t like you. Don’t do something you’ll regret." The mood turned sour as the two of them contemplated their current situation.

Alex tried to lighten things a bit.

"Are there any other teachers?"

"Alex," Ben chuckled, "we’re in the middle of a city, of course there are other teachers."

"But they’re not like you?"

"No, they’re not like me," Ben replied, falling silent for a moment, but clearly phrasing a sentence in his mind, "And, Alex?"

"Yeah?"

"I don’t need them to be."

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