The Usual by P.J.

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I was working my way westward after being disowned and thrown out of my childhood home.

Let me explain how I got to this point though. It was March of my gap year after high school. I’d been working two jobs, socking money away for college. I’d bought a used pick-up truck with a cap for transportation.

I was pretty well licked after working an extra shirt one night. I came home, and opened my laptop to do some gay porn surfing. I was 100% gay but hadn’t come out yet. I must have fallen asleep at my desk at some point though.

I awoke to my father violently shaking me. He’d come in to shut my laptop down and tell me to get to bed. He’d seen the gay porn vid that I’d forgotten to stop. "Get your belongings together and be gone before I come home tomorrow. And don’t ever come back." He whisper yelled. I’ll not have a queer boy living under my roof. Your no son of mine anymore."

I’d never seen him so angry. Instead of sleeping, I couldn’t even if I tried, I quietly packed up my stuff. Oh, well, so much for coming out. I thought morosely.

I stayed in my room the next morning. I heard some loud talk and a bit of yelling between my parents. I waited till the house was quiet, then moved my things out to my truck. There was a note on the kitchen table from my mother. "I’m sorry Dillon. Please know I still love you! Try and stay in touch. Love MOM.’ There was a bunch of twenty-dollar bills clipped to the note.

After I read it, the enormity of the situation hit me full force. As I walked out of my childhood home for the last time, I was sobbing.

We lived in a small town. There wasn’t any type of homeless shelter so I lived out of my truck for a short time. It became unbearable seeing my folks and brother around town but being shunned as if I was invisible. I decided to leave and head west. It was march in Minnesota. Sleeping in a truck wasn’t a long-term plan.

I only stopped for cat naps until I reached Aberdeen South Dakota. I had nothing to do while driving but think. My whole life had been upended. College plans were out the window. I needed to put distance between me and Minnesota. I needed a job too.

I’d driven all the way across South Dakota and was just entering Montana. Headed for Billings. I’d decided I wanted a physical job. Not some desk type work, or cashier job. I wasn’t your typical twink looking gay kid either. I was a strapping six-foot two well-muscled guy with a shoulder length ginger mane. I was quite proud of the mane. It had been a constant battle with my father. I’d let it grow out all senior year, from the summer butch the previous summer. I’d gotten a tiny trim for graduation to appease my mother. It was just getting to where I liked it. I realized I’d probably have to trim it for job hunting, but I wasn’t going to chop it all short.

I’d been stopping for food at local diners along the way. I started seeing postings on bulletin boards for ranch help. The more I thought about it, the more that type of job appealed to me. The work would be hard, keeping me in shape. I could keep to myself and sock some money away too.

I started paying closer attention to the various postings. I was sitting in a diner outside Billings Montana. I’d just finished breakfast. When I went up to the counter to pay, I asked the waitress if she knew anything about the posting for a full-time ranch hand up at a ranch in Lewistown.

The waitress glanced over at a handsome guy sitting at the counter and said "Hey, A.J. This guy wants to know about your job posting."

She looked back at me and said "A.J.is the ranch manager there. I’m sure he can answer any questions you might have."

I walked over and introduced myself. A.J. was quite a handsome guy. Lush thick shoulder length dirty blonde hair. A rugged handsome face. And about my size when he stood up and asked me to step outside. He was going to be easy on the eyes if I ended up working for him, that was for sure.

We sat in his truck and talked. That was my ‘job interview.’ I only told him I was leaving a bad situation behind and needed a fresh start. He seemed nice enough. He ended up offering me the job. Of course I took it. He gave me directions to the ranch and told me to make sure I had winter gear for working outside all day, spring wasn’t here quite yet. It was still winter in these parts too. He had business in town still so we agreed to meet in the afternoon at the ranch.

As I rounded up what I needed for that type of work, I thought back on our discussion. Did he seem more than casually interested in me? I wondered if I was reading more into the situation than I should have. My gaydar wasn’t very good yet. It certainly felt like there was at least some attraction between us though.

I met up with him in the afternoon. He introduced me to the ranch owner. He seemed like someone I could work for. I guessed I probably wouldn’t be seeing much of him though. A.J was in charge of the day-to-day running of the ranch.
A.J. showed me around the cluster of ranch buildings. Barns, main house, and two bunk houses. He explained what my duties would be as we walked around. So far, I hadn’t heard anything that I couldn’t handle. It seemed like a well-run operation too.

Turns out I was the first ranch hand here this season besides A.J. He said" since no one else is here yet you’ll be bunking with me, in this bunk house." He showed me around the bunk house. It had two bedrooms. Each with two twin beds. "There are usually a total of 8 of us here." A.J. stated. "I don’t have the other bunk house open yet. The rest of the guys won’t be showing up for another week or two. They’ll trickle in. You’ll be the only new hand this year too, I think. You can take the spare bed in my room. That would make it easier to talk and get better acquainted."

I agreed. He offered to help bring in what belongings I’d brought. As we walked out, his hand brushed down my back. I couldn’t be sure, but did he give my butt cheek a light playful squeeze? Hmm.

We were invited to the owners’ house for dinner that evening so he could get to know me a bit too. I was pretty guarded about my past, and what brought me to be here. He didn’t pry. He seemed like someone who just wanted honest, hardworking employees. I assured him I fit that bill but that I had zero experience ranching. A.J. assured me that wasn’t a problem.

We walked back to the bunk house later that evening. I was beat. "Well, if you don’t need me for anything, I’m going to turn in for the night." I told A.J.

He said "I am too, we’re generally up with the sun around here. I’ll wake you and we can make breakfast together. You can work with me for the next few days in order to get to know the place. O.K.?"

The two bedrooms shared a bathroom accessible by either bedroom. A.J explained that when all four of us were here, bathroom time was to be limited to necessities only, no using it as your private reading room. Any primping and preening was to be kept to a minimum also. I fully understood. I ran my fingers thru my plush mane. A.J. watched me, almost drooling.

I’d stripped down to my skivvies for bed since the bunk house was nice and warm. A real treat from sleeping in shelters or my truck. Wearing practically everything I owned just to stay somewhat warm. I caught A.J. watching me as I brushed my teeth and ran my brush thru my plush mane.

As I crawled into bed he asked. "You have a very unique hair color. Is that a family trait? Your shoulder length mane is gorgeous, by the way."

I gave him a wan smile. His question reminded me that my father, brother and I all had the same hair color. I just wasn’t part of their family anymore. "Um, yeah. Somewhere back on the tree, there’s some Irish blood. You have a very handsome mane too."

"Thanks" he said, running his fingers thru it. He had a strange smile on his face. "Well, sun up comes early, g’night Dillon." He turned out the light and pulled the covers up.

We worked side by side all week. I was exhausted every night. But I was learning. I was starting to get the feeling this was a good decision. A.J. was a man of few words. He’d give an instruction once, demonstrate it, and then it was up to me. I turned out to be a natural born horse rider too. I loved being around the horses. They seemed to like me too. A.J. was pleased with how I handled them and how they responded.

We’d shower up before dinner every night. One of us starting meal prep while the other showered. Then switching. A.J. had caught me on numerous occasions brushing out my wet mane. He was impressed with how great it looked with little to no effort. I felt the same way about his. It felt nice to be appreciated as is for a change.

We were slowly getting to know one another. I was starting to feel an attraction to A.J. More than just a friendly attraction. It seemed like he felt it too. I was guardedly optimistic that it might turn into more than just friendship.

Maybe he’d even become my boyfriend. The way he casually touched me, when I least expected it was starting to feel nice. I’d even tentatively touched him when he didn’t expect it either. He seemed to like it too.

Once when I caught him brushing his mane out, he looked at me and smiled. "Hey, this is getting a little shaggy, I think it’s getting to be time for my usual. I have supplies to pick up in Billings tomorrow. I think I’ll stop by Fred’s barber shop and get my usual. Want to come? I could use the help even if you don’t want a haircut."

I ran my fingers thru my plush locks. They were the longest I’d ever had them by far. I thought for a minute. "Um, sure, I guess. I need a couple of things in Billings myself."

We were up early, finished chores, and showered up by 9:00. A.J. had finished working up his shopping list and said "O.K. ready to go? We’ll hit Freds first. He’ll just be opening up."

It was a quiet ride in to Billings. We pulled up in front of a small stand-alone barber shop on the outskirts of Billings. I was starting to get nervous. I’d never set foot in a barber shop. My Father had always given me an annual butch cut as soon as school was out for summer. He kept that up until I entered High school. We had a huge fight and my mother took over the hair cutting. My hair started growing out. She only cut what I wanted cut so it was never an issue. It was never overly long then either but at least it wasn’t a butch anymore. My father hated that there was no annual summer butch anymore though. I was always ‘shaggy and unkempt’ as far as he was concerned.

When we waked into the shop, there was only one chair, and one barber. I guessed he was maybe middle age. Very short tight haircut with a knife edge side parting. Sides basically buzzed, just enough left on top to comb. With whatever gunk he had in it I wasn’t even sure what color it was.

A.J greeted Fred and introduced me. Fred patted the barber chair back and invited me to sit. I was a bit apprehensive but I thought well, if A.J. gets his hair cut here I should be O.K. A.J.’s mane looked outstanding. Fred might be able to do a good job with me too. This would be the first time I’d be able to truly decide how I looked. I could finally be myself maybe.

A.J and Fred were talking while Fred caped me up. "Now then Dillon, you have a beautiful head of hair. And such an unusual deep auburn color. Very handsome. Looks like it’s been a while since your last haircut though, huh." Fred was brushing out my lush locks. A.J. had taken a seat in a nearby waiting area chair. "What are we doing for you today son?" Fred finally asked.

A.J. piped up and said "Why don’t you just give him my usual Fred?"

I pondered this for a second. I said carefully "If A.J. looks that good with the usual, then I guess that sounds fine. I’ve never been in a barber shop before so this is all new to me." I looked hopefully at Fred.

Fred nodded and said "O.K. Are you getting your usual today too A.J.?"

"Yes sir. I’m probably a bit overdue for it actually. Pretty soon we’ll be busy at the ranch and it’ll be harder for me to get away and come in."

A.J. was busy explaining to Fred when the rest of the guys were coming in. Apparently, Fred knew a few of the others too. He was asking about them when he gripped the top of my head and gently pushed it down. I heard a loud clack, then a hum coming from something behind my head. My brain was trying to shift gears from ranch talk to new barbershop noises. I felt something cold slide in under my thick mane in back and touch down on my nape. Somewhere back in the dark recesses of my brain I thought that it felt familiar, and not in a good way. Before I fully grasped what was going on I felt it sliding up the back of my head, all the way to the crown. Pulling on my hair a little as it slid up.

I saw A.J. grin and nod. "Bet that feels good doesn’t it Dillon. I always love the feeling of the that first pass with the clippers."

"Clippers" I yelped, recognition finally dawning on me. I quickly jerked my head away from Freds iron grip. As I did that a huge shank of my thick auburn locks slid off my shoulder and slid down into my lap. My hand was out from under the cape in a flash. Feeling the back of my head. "WHAT THE F*** FRED"! I howled. "WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU DOING!" I started to get up, struggling to get the cape undone.

Fred looked a little bit surprised. He pushed me back into the chair. "Sit down son." He barked. "You said you wanted the usual, right?"

"Well, yeah, I assumed it was a nice trim. Look at A.J.’s hair. He looks great. What the hell are you doing to me?"

"I’m giving you a #1 butch. That’s A.J.’s usual when he comes in this time of year. Right A.J.?" Fred looked at A.J. for a response.

A.J. chuckled. "Um, Fred, I think there’s been a bit of miscommunication. I kind of forgot Dillons new to us. Dillon, I get my head buzzed around this time every year. We get to busy for me to come in later in the spring. Then it gets hot. I hate having all this thick bulk on my head in the heat. The buzz cut keeps me nice and cool. I don’t sweat as much. Most of the guys get a buzz cut, or something really short for the summer season too. Don’t worry, Fred will do a great job. You ‘ll be much cooler and more comfortable, you’ll thank me later."

The more A.J. talked the more upset I got. I was mad at myself for not getting clarification on what exactly ‘the usual’ was. I was livid at A.J. for just assuming I’d want it in the first place. Thinking back to all the conversations we’d had about our hair, he’d never once mentioned getting all his hair buzzed off in the spring. F***! I’d followed his advice like a love sick pup.

"A #1 butch!" I howled. "Are you f***ing kidding me! I can’t believe this! I look like a total moron with a butch cut. I’ll feel like I’m back in junior high getting my annual summer butch from dear old dad. F***. F***, F***, F***!" I exhaled loudly. My thick fringe flopped into my face. As I moved it off my face it dawned on me that when I left this shop, I’d pretty much be bald. F***. I started sniffing. No way was I going to cry in front of A.J. though. No way.

"Fred. What kind of a cut can you salvage out of this. I DO NOT WANT A BUTCH." I barked at him. I knew I was pretty much screwed by the feel of the freshly clipped section all the way up to my crown though.
Fred stood and studied me for a minute. He took a good look at the freshly shaved patch on the back of my head.

A.J. was watching me closely. "Dillon, just let him finish buzzing you, it‘s probably too late now anyway."

‘F*** you A.J." I howled. "You think this is all just so funny."

Fred looked at me hard. "Well, I could give you kind of a high n tight crew cut. It would leave a little length at the front, just a small fringe. The rest of the top would be a #4, maaaybe a #5 at the most. The sides and back will have to all come down to a #1 though."

I howled. "Can’t you just give me an undercut, leave the top long? I could tie it back?"

A.J. piped up. "Dillon, just let him finish the #1 all over. The guys will never let you live down a tie back undercut."

"Go f*** yourself A.J." I barked again.

"Can you do a long crew, in the front Fred? At least to start?" I moaned. And leave the top as wide as you can. I don’t want to look like I have a mohawk, got it!"

Fred nodded. "Yes, sure. I can do that if you want."

"I want to have it look as far from a #1 butch as you can get. Even if it’s a bit unconventional." I looked murderously at A.J.

"Well, I’ll continue then." Fred said. Looking at me for confirmation.

I just shrugged, slumping back into the chair. I got that sinking feeling in the pit of my stomach. Like the bottom was dropping out of it. Ugh. This sucked. S**t. If this was the way A.J. really was, I was second guessing my decision to try being a ranch hand. He reminded me of my dear old asshole dad.

I felt Fred make another pass up the back with the clippers. Then another and another. I shuddered involuntarily with each successive pass. God, this sucked. Sheaves of my treasured hair were falling. Tumbling from the clipper blades to my shoulders with each pass. Arrg! I hadn’t been planning on getting more than the ends trimmed. Now my thick mane was piling up in my lap one clipper full at a time. So much for picking my own ‘style’. I was totally demoralized.

I glowered at A.J. He had a smirk on his face. I growled at him. "F*** you man. You planned this didn’t you. You’re an asshole."

"Oh, stop Dillon." A.J. smirked again. "You’re going to look so hot when Fred is finished. Even if it’s not a butch. You’ll thank me when the summer heat hits. You’ll see."

Fred was finishing clipper shaving the sides now. The mountain of hair in my lap was impressive, and still growing. Mounds of bulk being removed with each clipper pass. I had to fight hard to hold it together. I couldn’t see anything yet. My thick fringe hanging across my face. I was turned away from the mirror. No doubt so Asshole A.J. could have a ring side seat to the shearing.

Fred had sectioned the top bulk off so he’d have a crisp clean line of transition around my head. He unclipped the top bulk and fluffed it out. Putting the clippers away he picked up shears and comb. He started in the back. I could feel him pick up sections of my long locks, and SNIP! a thick section would get dropped in my lap. He was gradually working his way from back to front. God, it was awful. Thick hanks falling after every snip of the shears. It wasn’t going to be a total buzz cut, but pretty damn close. S**t. Two years of patient growth, almost a foot of hair down the drain. God dam that A.J.

A.J. was still watching with rapt attention. He piped up. "Hey Fred. Aren’t you going to use the clippers on the top?"

Fred replied ‘No, not if I’m going to leave it a bit longer, and it’ll have it get gradually longer towards the front. For a fringe."

A.J. said "But I thought we said…" Then abruptly stopped talking.

I howled again. "So, you and Fred planned this together. Of course. I should have known." I was hopping mad now. This was confirmation that it wasn’t just me being naive.

I saw Fred flash A.J. a ‘shut up ‘ look.

A.J. continued watching the divestiture but he wasn’t as excited now. "Well, yeah, sort of." He quietly said. "I knew you needed a short haircut. I didn’t think you’d willingly get it cut this short, so I had to be kind of devious. Freds worked with me before. He knows what is going to happen when I mention ‘the usual’. Don’t worry, I think it’ll still look hot on you man."

I barked at him. "I’m not interested in ‘looking hot’ especially for an asshole like you A.J. You’re right, all I wanted was a trim. I would have ignored you if you’d told me to get a butch for sure. For your information, in case you haven’t noticed, I don’t sweat. Never have. Having long hair in summer isn’t a problem for me. Now thanks to you, I’m reliving all the horrible summer shearings’ I used to get from my asshole father. Thanks, thanks a lot. And I’m certainly not interested in ‘looking hot’ for the likes of you!"

Fred was finished by the time I stopped ranting.

"There son. We’re done. Want to have a look at the new you?" He started to turn the chair towards the mirror.

"STOP" I yelled. "NO, no I don’t want to see the new me! I already know I’ll look like a 12-year-old moron. Just uncape me so I can get down."

Fred stopped spinning the chair. And unsnapped the cape. Letting the huge mountain of my gorgeous locks slide off to the floor.

A.J. was still at it though. "Oh, come on Dillon. You have to take a look at the ‘NEW’ you. That’s half the fun of getting sheared. Seeing your horrified reaction."

My eyes popped. "Wow, you really are a special kind of asshole, you know it A.J.!"

Fred, do you have a rest room I can use?" I barked.

"Yes, just in the back on the left." Fred motioned.

As I walked off, A.J. was coming forward to get in the chair. "Ah, want to see the big reveal in private first, huh."

"F*** you A.J." was all I could say back. I wanted to punch his lights out but thought better of it at the last minute.

When I came out of the rest room after a brief cry, still rubbing my freshly shaved nape, I started to take a good look around the shop. A.J. had been capped up. Fred was just brushing his mane out.

I walked up to the shelf behind the big barber chair. Fred had started cleaning and sterilizing the clippers he’d used on me. I noticed several more pairs of clippers hanging from hooks under the shelf. "Fred, how come you have so many pairs of clippers?"

Fred couldn’t resist explaining the tools of the trade to a newbie. As he talked, I pointed to one pair that looked new. "Oh, those. Those are my new balding clippers. With the fade craze, they save me from having to clip the hair as short as I can with these." He held the big pair of clippers he’d used to remove my mane up high. "Then having to razor shave below the bald line. These take it right down to nothing all at once. They’re a huge time saver."
Fred turned to put down the spray and brush he was using to clean the clippers.

I took a look at A.J.’s gorgeous blonde mane, all brushed out, lush and thick. I’ll fix his wagon I thought. In a flash, I grabbed the balding clippers. They were plugged in. I grabbed a thick hank of A.J.’s hair hanging down in back and yanked his head back.

A.J. gave me a suddenly terrified look, yelping loudly. I clicked them on, and plunged the chattering clippers in at his front hairline, holding them tight to his skull, and pushed back to his crown. Right down the middle of the top of his head. A huge shank of lush blonde hair slid free. I shoved his head forward again, handing Fred the balding clippers. "I guess maybe you’ll have to finish his cut with these now, huh."
Fred was stunned. So was A.J.

I looked A.J. dead in the eyes. "Surprise. Guess we’ll see what you look like shaved completely bald. I hope your head looks like an ugly ball sack! Asshole!"

I walked over to the chair A.J. had occupied a few minutes ago and sat down to watch the show.

A.J. reached a hand out from under the cape and felt the now bald skunk stripe down the top of his head. "F***!" He yelled. "Why the f*** did you do that?"

I sat back, arms crossed, with a smirk. "What’s a matter tough guy. Afraid of what you’ll look like with a totally bald head? Think of how much cooler you’ll be with no hair at all."

I looked at Fred. "O.K. Fred. Come on now. Let’s get our friend here shaved down. We don’t have all day."

Fred shrugged his shoulders. "O.K." was all he said, picking up the balding clippers and clicking them back on. He proceeded to remove the rest of the hair on top of A.J.’s head. Pass after pass across the top of his head. A.J.’s pasty white skin appeared as handfuls of lush blonde locks fell away. Piling up in his lap. A.J. even grimaced a few times as a particularly thick shank of dirty blonde locks tumbled down across his face.
I took consolation in the fact that A.J. didn’t look like he was enjoying his haircut at all. OH, Geeze, poor baby.

As Fred pealed the last strip of lush locks from the top of A.J.’s head, thick chanks sliding down past his sad eyes, I barked "stop Fred."

Fred and A.J. both looked up at me. I snapped a couple of pics. At the moment, A.J. had the perfect bald guy’s ring of hair hanging down. "Maybe this is what you’ll look like as an old man. I might get a print or two of this and pin em up in the bunk houses. I’ll bet the other guys would get a good laugh seeing you like this."

"You wouldn’t" A.J. howled. Looking horrified at me.

I just smiled back at him.

Fred quickly removed the rest of A.J.’s lush mane. Clipper full after clipper full of thick blonde locks being severed. Pasty white skin showing in the wake of the clippers path of destruction. Even Fred had a surprised expression as the hair came off and the bald head emerged. Yes! It was my turn to grin now. "Ah, nice just as I’d hoped. He looks like a boot camp recruit. His head looks just like a freshly manscaped ball sack. Nice! And those ears. Is one a bit lower than the other?" Nothing could wipe the smug grin off my face. Finally, the last thick shank was severed and slid into A.J.’s lap.

Spin him around Fred. Let him get a good look at the new and improved A.J."

Fred spun the chair. My grin widened as I heard A.J. Howl. "Oh f***!"

Fred gave him a thorough brushing down and unsnapped the cape pulling it away to let A.J. get up. The huge pile of thick blonde locks sliding to the floor.

I was already headed for the door. "Fred, I can assure you I won’t be seeing you again…ever. Even if I decide to stick around and continue to work with this asshole."

I didn’t wait for a response.

I was sitting, fuming in the truck when A.J. got in.

I was surprised to hear A.J. say "I’m sorry Dillon. I shouldn’t have done that to you. Can I just say that you look hot as f***, though?"

I looked at him incredulously. "You bastard! Don’t even…. You blew any chance you had with me when you had me shaved against my will. ASSHOLE!"

"He looked surprised. "Dillon, come on man. It’s just a haircut. You have to admit, you look smokin hot."

I could feel my face starting to get red. I was clenching and unclenching my fists. In my most menacing tone I said "A.J., You have a choice. You can either shut your yap, and drive to the AG supply store, or get out of this truck and let me beat the ever-loving crap out of you. Right here, right now. It’s up to you."

A.J. chirped. "Yeah, like you could take me."

I raised my brows, reaching for the door handle. "There is so much adrenaline pumping thru me right now, I could probably pick up this truck and hurl it at you. ASSHOLE! Wanna have a go?"
A.J. looked at me. Trying to stare me down. After a minute, he broke the stare and started the truck.

He made several more attempts at small talk throughout the rest of the mornings supply gathering. I ignored him. Only doing what I had to do as his employee. Nothing more. I also tried to ignore the not so polite stares from total strangers too. Ugh. Neither of us had worn hats into town today. Our freakishly short cuts on full display for everyone to see.

By noon we were pretty much done getting supplies. A.J. quietly said "I’m hungry, you must be too. We’ll stop at the diner and get something to eat."

I just shrugged my shoulders.

As we sat down in the booth, the waitress walked over. "Ah, a couple of military boys. You must be on leave. You’re in civilian clothes." She looked straight at A.J. and said "That’s a hell of a boot camp haircut soldier. Bald definitely isn’t a good look on you, that’s for damn sure." She chuckled at her rude remark, then asked "what’ll you have boys?" She was all nice and cheery.

I’d give my eye teeth for a hat I thought morosely. I gave A.J. a murderous look, then gave her my order. I looked out the window. My eyes were starting to get wet. F***! He was not going to see me loose it. Not here, not now. I fought the tears back.

We started eating in silence.

By the time we’d finished eating I was seething again. A.J. had made several attempts at conversation. Trying to convince me he’d had my best interests at heart. "Bull s**t!" I barked at one point. "You get your jollies seeing other guys get their lush locks shaved off." I got up and left the diner. Screw him.

He remembered I wanted to stop at the drug store. I WAS going to get shampoo and conditioner. I had been running low. Now, what I had left would last me quite a while I thought, rubbing my nearly bald head. S**t! I wouldn’t even need a comb until fall. I bought sunscreen instead. I was going to need plenty of that now.

We rode back to the ranch in silence. A.J. kept furtively glancing over at me when he thought I didn’t notice.

When we got back. I helped unload and store everything we’d picked up in town like a good employee.

It was close to dinner time by the time we finished.

When we got back to the bunk house A.J. said "You can have the shower first, I’ll start dinner."

I barked "I’m not hungry." And stalked off to the bedroom.

While I showered, I had a complete breakdown. Once I started washing the stubble on my head the enormity of what had happened hit full force. I tried to keep the sobbing silent. I didn’t want him to know he’d destroyed me. I was so mad at myself for thinking that I might have had a chance at something with an asshole like him. Clearly, I’d grossly misjudged him. He was a lot like dear old dad. All sweet and nice until out of the blue he would f*** you over for some little thing you did or didn’t do. I seriously thought about packing up and heading out. Putting distance between me and another horrible situation. That felt like running away from the problem though. Ugh. I knew one thing though. I sure as hell wasn’t going to continue sharing a bedroom with him while I figured things out.

I dried off and dressed. I gathered up an armload of my stuff and carried it out and over to the other bedroom. I was returning for a second load when A.J. asked "What are you doing? Oh, come on, Dillon. You’re moving out of our room? Dillon. Come on. No."

I gave him a malevolent stare. "Oh, yeah, asshole. I want to spend as little time around you as possible. God knows what other sneaky s**t you’re capable of pulling on me. When the other guys start getting here, I’ll move to the other bunk house. If I decide to stay that is." I walked in to the bedroom and gathered another armload. As I came out, I barked. "Since you’re my boss, let’s be clear on this. If you have business to discuss, orders to give, we can talk. Otherwise, I don’t want anything to do with you. Is that clear? If that’s a problem, tell me now. I’ll just pack this all up and be gone."

That struck a chord with him. I saw his eyes getting a bit damp. "Dillon. Really? Can’t you give me another chance? I really like you, please?"

"If that’s the way you treat the people you really like, I don’t want to be around to see how you treat the ones you don’t like. You’re a sneaky asshole A.J. I was raised by an asshole like you. I’m all done with people like you. And no, you don’t get a second chance. You’ve never even apologized for what you did. You clearly think you did nothing wrong. People like you can’t be trusted."

I walked into the bedroom and closed the door.

I was beat. The days trauma had worn me down. I got ready for bed and turned in. I had a lot of thinking to do.

The next morning, I got up and dressed. A.J. was in the kitchen. He tried to act as if everything was O.K. "Good morning, Dillon. Wasn’t it nice to get up and not have to fight with all that long hair?" he smiled at me hopefully.
I looked at him incredulously. What a callus bastard. I started to say something, then stopped. He wasn’t worth the waste of my breath.

He’d made breakfast for both of us. I picked up my plate and dumped it in the garbage. "I’ll make my own meals from now on." It was all I could manage to say without punching him in the face. I made myself some toast, then headed out to the barn. What an asshole I thought. He just won’t quit trying to make his selfish prank seem like the best thing ever. I saw him clearly now as the selfish brat that he was. He wasn’t used to not getting what he wanted. Well, he’d met his match with me, that was for damn sure.

He came out to the barn and quietly went over the day’s chore list. I just nodded and walked off to start work.

Thankfully he had sense enough to let me work alone this morning. I was still hopping mad at him.

When I came back to the bunk house for lunch. There was a new guy sitting at the table. He jumped up and introduced himself. His name was Billy. He seemed like a nice guy. I was being extra cautious though. A.J. had seemed nice too, at first.

I walked thru my bedroom to the bathroom to wash up. I noticed that Billy had put his stuff on the other bed in my room. When I came out, he was sitting on the bed. "Hey, I hope you don’t mind me taking this bunk? I had it last year. He’d taken his hat off. Yum. He was quite handsome with a nice thick shoulder length chestnut mane. Momentarily, I wondered what all that would feel like. Me running my fingers thru it. Him on top of me, pounding me with his huge cock. Ugh, now that my anger was subsiding a bit, I was horny. I knew that mane was destined for the floor though. Ugh. Oh, well, he would still be easy on the eyes for a roommate.

I said "No, you’re fine. I know I’m the newbie here so I’m low man on the totem pole, so to speak. I hope you’ll be O.K. with me."

Billy was giving me the once over. He gave a tiny smirk. "Oh, I think you’ll do just fine Dillon."

We walked back out into the kitchen so I could grab a sandwich for lunch.

Billy said "I’m surprised you aren’t bunking with A.J. He usually has the new guy bunk with him."

I Chuckled, then looked at him sadly. Pointing to my head I said "I used to have hair longer than yours. Until yesterday."

Billy held his hands up. "Wait, stop, don’t tell me, A.J. took you to see Fred? For ‘the usual’. Am I right?" Billy started to give me a really good inspecting look. "Hmm. You don’t have a butch though."

I looked up at him. Well, I would, except I caught ol’ fast Fred on the first pass, before he could cut any of the top. I made him give me something as long as it could be without looking totally horrid."

Billy gave a wan smile. "Yeah, I remember my first year here. I fell for that old trick too. A.J. loves to watch a handsome head of long hair get stripped to the wood. So does ol’ fast Fred as you call him. Nobody goes back to Fred though. We’ve all learned to cut our own hair, and help each other with haircuts. You don’t need to be bald out here in the summer. Sometimes hot and sweaty can look pretty good." Billy gave me a once over before smirking. "If you know what I mean."

A.J. came in just as Billy finished speaking. They exchanged hellos while A.J. made lunch for himself.

A.J. looked at Billy and said "Nice, you definitely need to make a trip to see Fred. Let me know when you’re going. I’d love to watch all that gorgeous hair hit the cape." He fingered the thick shag hanging from Billy’s nape.

Billy gave A.J. a dead stare. "That’s never going to happen, you know that right?" When A.J. sat down he took off his hat.

Billy laughed. "Holy crap. What happened to you. Looks like ol’ Fred got carried away with you this year.
I kept my head down and just smiled.

A.J. replied "ahem, well, things went a little sideways at Freds yesterday. He never finished scalping Dillon. Then he tried out some sort of new clippers on me and they cut way too short."

Billy smirked. "You can say that again. You look like a ball sack. And not in a good way. Yeesh. Not that you didn’t deserve it. Maybe if you stopped with the sneaky buzz cuts the new guys might warm up to you a bit."

A.J. smiled at me. "Ah, it’s only hair. By the time it gets really hot here Dillon and I will be a bit scruffy and due for a return to Freds for a fresh shearing. Right Dillon?"

"Think again A.J. I’m going to make sure any other new guy that shows up here this year doesn’t get victimized by you either. I’m still thinking about having a talk with the ranch owner to tell him what an asshole you are."

A.J.’s whole demeanor suddenly changed. "Oh, come on, don’t do that. I told you, I really like you man. Let’s just move on. You look fantastic with all that shag removed, Well most of it anyway. I want to get to know you better man."

Billy was watching the interplay between A.J. and I with guarded interest.

"Professional and business like is all you’ll ever get from me A.J." I deadpanned.

A.J. gave up on the friendly banter and explained what needed to be done for the afternoon.

Billy and I rode out to do an emergency fence repair. A.J. stayed behind, in case any of the other guys showed up.

While we were working on the repair, I filled Billy in on what really went down at Freds. He said "Well, it sucks that you got scalped, but I’m happy to hear someone stand up to A.J. You know, I won’t be cutting my hair for another month or two yet. It can still get pretty cold here sometimes. Maybe when the time comes, you could help me though?"

I thought before I spoke. "Um, well, I guess. I’ve never cut anyone’s hair though. And until I grew mine out this last couple of years, I’ve always had a butch every summer. That’s why I object to this short cut now."

"Ah, you’ll do fine. All I do is a crude shorter cut. It doesn’t have to look great. It’s just us guys out here at the ranch."

As if to emphasize, he popped his hat off and pushed the thick heavy bang shank back up and mashed his hat back on. Sure, I thought, I’d love to help if I can run my fingers thru that mane, absolutely I’d help.

By the end of the next week, we had a full complement of ranch hands. There ended up being one more newbie that bunked with A.J. Billy and I filled him in quickly on A.J.’s devious ‘the usual’ haircut plot so A.J. was foiled completely this time.

I did finally settle down. With some prodding from Billy, I decided to stay for the season. I felt something between us. I wanted to see where it went. I was uber cautious this time though. Once burned, twice shy the saying goes. He seemed to really genuinely like me back though. Maybe I’d finally have my first bonafide boyfriend. Hmm.

I kept A. J. at arm’s length though. He hasn’t stopped trying to win me over. Some guys just don’t get it, I guess.

Along about the end of May, the weather got warmer, and stayed warm. Billy said he was going to give himself a haircut this weekend and asked if I could help him out. I said, sure, I’m all in to learn. I was itching to get my fingers into that lush mane.

Billy said "I’m guessing once the others see me with short hair, we may be doing several more cuts. Just be aware."

I nodded. "Thanks for the warning. I hope no one cares how they look. I have zero experience cutting hair."

Saturday came. After all the guys got cleaned up before dinner Billy called me into the bathroom. "O.K. Dillon, this seems like as good a time as any for my haircut. It shouldn’t take us long to chop this off."

He plunked down on a chair he’d grabbed from our bedroom and put in front of the mirror in the bathroom.

He smiled at me and started combing his lush mane down all around his head. I had to admit, I had a serious case of hair lust. His thick chestnut colored mane looked absolutely amazing. I wish he didn’t want to get it cut at all.
He combed his thick chin length bangs down straight. He picked up the shears, lined them up on the bridge of his nose, and SNIP, SNIP, SNIP. 5 inches of plush bang shank hit the floor.

I gasped. "Holy s**t you weren’t kidding when you said it would be shorter. Wow."

Billy smirked. "I hate to do it, but it’s gotta go. It’ll be back by next spring though. Wanna help?"

I said "um, sure what do you want me to do. And remember…you need to be detailed and specific. I’ve never done this before."

Billy smiled at me warmly as he handed me the shears and comb. "O.K. comb my hair straight down on the sides, all around."

I did as he asked. It was just nicely hitting his shoulders. It felt wonderful having those thick silken locks slide thru my fingers. I gave a small involuntary moan. I was hoping he hadn’t noticed. I saw him smile for just a few seconds. Oops. Oh, well.

He pointed to just behind his right ear. "Now I want you to start in front, and cut to just behind my ear, right at the bottom of my ear. Make sure to stop the cut just as you get past my ear though."

I groaned again as 5 inches of lush bulk fell away, some into his lap. Lord knows why I did it but…I reached down and grabbed one of the thick locks in his lap. I encountered a steel hard object in his lap too. Ungh. I held the thick lock up for inspection. "Good lord Billy, this is a lot of hair. Holy crap."

He nodded and smiled at me demurely. I was pretty sure that smile meant he’d felt my fingers hitting his throbbing cock. I chuckled to myself. Well at least he’s enjoying getting his short haircut. Unlike me.
He turned his head to examine the cut in the mirror. "Yeah, looks great. Now do the other side."

I combed and snipped off another large handful of 5-inch locks. Now there was a huge disconnect between the side length and the back length. The back almost touched his shoulder blades. It was so well cut, I didn’t want to hack at it. It was nicely layered, and laid perfectly. I was seriously jealous.


Billy said "Nice. Now this is where you’ll really be helping me out. Comb the back out straight down, all around. Start where you left off behind my ear. Cut down as you go around the back, and cut back up to where you stopped behind my other ear."

I was a bit confused, how long do you want it in back then? How far ‘down’ do I go?" I asked.

"Only a couple of inches below my nape. Not long." He reached back, found his nape and slid down a little. "About here" He indicated.

I nodded" ah, O.K." I said and started snipping. Long thick locks slid free, falling to the floor. I was hard as a rock seeing all that hair falling at my feet. Ungh.

Billy was staring right at crotch level on me as I stood next to him and snipped around the side of his head. I was surprised when he commented "Ah, I see cutting hair has the same effect on you that it does for me."
Just as I asked "Eh, what?" He rubbed my rock-hard cock thru my shorts.

I gave him a small smile. Moaning softly. "Eh, yeah, I guess. I always got hard, even when my dear old dad shaved me for summer." I said, frowning.

He gave me a sympathetic nod. "I’ve only had mine that short once, thanks to A.J. I know just how you feel though. Ugh. I bet you looked amazing, what with that blonde color an all."

"Yeah, really", I groaned. "It did look great. I thought I’d escaped getting butch cuts. I’d been growing mine out for almost two years. It was just decently long, where it needed a little bit of a trim, you know. I thought I would go with A.J. He had really nice longer hair too. I thought I could trust him. I was going to get a ‘trim’ for the first time in my life, not a butch. I would be deciding how I would look. That asshole stole that from me. Now I’m right back where I started, having to grow it all out again.

I finished trimming Billy. "Hmm" he said turning his head from side to side. "Wanna try something?"

"UM, sure I guess. What? "He lifted a small section along the bottom edge. I watched closely as he took the shears from me and cut the small hairs sticking above his fingers. Similar to before. "Since I have you trimming. And you’re doing an amazing job. Try doing what I just did, all the way around the bottom edge. O.K.?"

I shrugged my shoulders "Sure." I loved the feel of the shorter locks as I combed thru them and lifted as he’d shown me. Nice and thick. Still kind of bushy, but not really. I combed and snipped all the way around his head. Even this short, his hair felt amazing.

When I’d finished that I stepped back. "Wow man. I never would a believed that I could cut your hair and have it look that good." I gave the shorter locks in back a quick brush with my fingers. Billy moaned.
Billy stared at his reflection in the mirror and shook his head. "Dillon! This looks amazing, man. You’re my new barber!"

I blushed. "Um, yeah, I does look pretty good, doesn’t it." I replied, staring at him. I couldn’t hold back a frown.

"What? What’s the matter" Billy said quietly.

‘Oh, nothin. I guess I’m just kinda jealous is all." I rubbed my hand up thru the short nubbins on the back of my head.

Billy stood up. The tent in his shorts becoming more obvious now. He rested his arms on my shoulders and looked me in the eyes. We were face to face. Close. Without warning, he leaned in and kissed me. Just a brief, quick touching of our lips. He said "You have nothing to be jealous of. You are one hot lookin dude. Um, I hope that was O.K. I’ll back off if you don’t want this."

I wrapped my arms around him and went in for another kiss. This one long and lingering, exploratory. We broke and I leaned back just a bit. "I think I do want this. Let’s just go slow, O.K.?"
Billy grinned and nodded. "Yeah, as slow as you want Dillon. I’m not going anywhere…for a while anyway."

I distracted myself by starting to clean up our mess. "Let’s clean up and go get some grub. I’m starving. I don’t want the rest of the guys eating our share now." I chuckled.

Billy walked thru our bedroom out in the main room. I overheard lots of positive comments. That made me feel good. I wanted Billy to look good, not like he had some grammas hack job haircut.

When I walked out, the guys all said what a great job I’d done. It was pretty much a unanimous comment when someone said. ‘I think we know who the ranch barber is this year.’


I looked around the table. Everyone was smiling, except A.J. He finally spoke. "Billy, seriously, that’s as short as you’re going? You’ve still got a mop. You’re going to roast in the summer heat."

Billy smiled at me. "Nah, it’s about the same length as I cut it last year. It wasn’t that bad. Beat’s looking like a ball sack too." He smirked. "Although, yours is growing out into a butch already."

"Ah, well, at least one newbie will be nice and cool. He won’t be sweating, will you Dillon?" A.J droned.


"I definitely won’t be sweating A.J. I don’t sweat. That’s why I only wanted a trim." I gave him a dead pan stare.

The guys guffawed. I heard a chorus of ‘yeah sure, I don’t sweat. Right!’

I shrugged my shoulders. I wasn’t arguing. They’d see.


Our other newbie, Cody, stopped me as we were clearing the table. "Hey Dillon. Do you think you could give me a trim, maybe not tonight, maybe tomorrow though? A.J. is bugging me to go with him to see Fred. I really don’t want a scalping."
I looked at Billy. "Think you could talk me thru cutting Cody’s mop?" I asked.

Billy nodded and smiled. "Sure. We don’t have any clippers though. It’ll have to be a scissor cut."

And so it went. I ended up cutting all 5 of the remaining guy’s hair. With Billy’s expert coaching. Some a bit longer, some a bit shorter. I kind of liked the two-finger version as Billy and I came to call it. It felt great running my fingers thru it when I finished. It resembled a pretty gown out butch cut. Nice and bushy. Like it is before it starts to behave and lay down again.

I couldn’t wait for mine to grow back out though. The guys were all surprised as the summer passed and I never broke a sweat. My mom always laughed whenever she saw me working hard and not breaking a sweat. She said it was something called having blue blood.

Along about October, Billy started talking about heading north for the winter. He was a snow board instructor at a ski resort his parents ran. We had become pretty tight over the last few months. He’d been a gentleman and taken things slow for me. We were pretty much inseparable now. He asked me if I’d like to go with him. I really wanted to see where this relationship might go, so I said yes.

We both told A.J. we’d probably be back next year. A.J. nodded, looked me square in the eyes and said "I assume you won’t be going with me to Freds next spring though. I’ll miss you."

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