Andrew's Haircut Adventures, Part 4 by Andrew Smith

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Andrew spent the Sunday at home. It was raining. Not heavy rain, but enough to get his hair bun wet. That would have involved too much effort in maintaining. He had no plans or agenda for that day. He spent his day at home admiring his beautiful haircut, tying, untying, then again tying, untying and then tying the knot of his bun. For months he had grown out his hair. He was sad when he thought of the hair on his sides and back. It was nice and long as well. But to get this sexy haircut, he had to trim it all down to a #1. The sides were still tightly buzzed. He loved it. The rest of the day was spent reading haircut stories, watching haircut and headshave videos. After reading new stories and watching new videos from his feed, he got hornier and watched some gay porn. There weren't too many haircut or headshave-related gay porn videos. Rather, whatever limited number were there, he felt that he had watched them all. There was nothing new. He went back and read some of his favorite haircut stories again.

On Monday morning, he got up, shampooed his beautiful hair and conditioned his long locks. This was the first day since the haircut that his co-workers would see his haircut. He was excited to see everyone's reactions. He spent time blow-drying his long hair. He tied the hair up in a bun leaving just a lock of hair out dangling on the side framing his beautiful face.

A beautiful idea came to his mind. Instead of having all his hair as dark brown, he was thinking of dying just one lock blonde on his left side and having that tied into the bun. This would be different from the lock of hair he had kept loose. The thought of having that excited him. He decided that the coming weekend, he would do a do-it-yourself project of dying a lock of his hair at home. This was the first time he would actually color his hair. Up until now, he had never colored, permed or 'treated' his hair.

He checked his calendar on his work phone. Besides a meeting with a prospective client at 2 pm, his schedule was almost free. The meeting meant that he would have to wear his suit. He picked out a light blue shirt and pink tie to go with his navy blue suit. He was dressed. He looked sexy as hell. He loved it.

The reactions from his co-workers were amazing, just as he had expected. Everyone loved the idea of this being an undercut with style. "Everyone has an undercut these days," remarked Phil, "but yours is stylish. It is an undercut, but with that knot in your hair at the top. Looks stylish and modern and well-groomed. Not messy like those out-of-bed looks." Tracy, their office receptionist, seemed to agree as well, "My boyfriend has this undercut, but your long hair and short sides and back look really hip."

Mr.Rusakov, his manager, walked in to work at that time and spotted Andrew talking to Tracy. They wished each other. Mr.Rusakov could not help but notice Andrew's new haircut. "Wow, you really trimmed down the sides, Andrew. I just wish you had cut the top shorter as well." Tracy joked about Mr.Rusakov being old and not understanding fashion. The three of them laughed. Everyone went back to their desks and started working.

It was not a busy morning for Andrew. He had some preparation to do for their upcoming meeting. Mr.Rusakov had prepared some slides for a presentation that he himself was going to deliver. He had asked Andrew to just take a look for a 'second opinion' and to fix typos and minor mistakes. Andrew was busy making changes on his computer when Mr.Rusakov called him into his office. "We need to prepare and get ready for the meeting this afternoon. How do the slides look?" he asked, grabbing his coat. Andrew responded, "David, I have been making minor edits. Just changing the color of some pie charts to appeal better to the client and such stuff." Signaling Andrew to join him, he walked out of the office and said in an exhausted tone, "I need coffee to focus on this first. But let's discuss along the way. You should get some caffeine too. I cannot have you sleeping at the meeting." This was nothing new. It was 11 o'clock in the morning and Mr.Rusakov would go get his coffee everyday. He preferred getting it himself, rather than asking his assistant to get it. It would be a nice stroll and Starbucks was just a block away.

Andrew joined him. They walked the block and got into the cafe. All along, they were discussing details of their upcoming meeting. Mr.Rusakov, as always, was excited about the new prospect. He was blabbering about how important this client would prove to be. Andrew knew the grind. It was the same every time. Mr.Rusakov informed him about the people fromt he prospect's company who would be visiting them. Mr.Rusakov ordered and paid for their coffees. They grabbed them and were headed back to their office...or so, Andrew thought.

Mr.Rusakov had different plans. He was stern, "Andrew, this meeting is very important. And I want us to display how professional we are. But what's up with your hair?" Andrew was surprised. He had not expected his manager to change the topic so suddenly. "Follow me," Mr.Rusakov instructed Andrew. Andrew had no idea, but Mr.Rusakov went to the entrance of a barbershop and looked with large eyes at Andrew to ensure that he was following him inside. 'Oh, hell no!,' Andrew thought. But he did not know what to do. This was his manager, for all he knew. He had to listen to him. Getting a good job in this economy was not easy, although he wasn't thinking of any of that. He wasn't thinking of disobeying his manager. "David, why are we here?," he asked. Mr.Rusakov yelled back, "Why! 'Why?' you ask? For you to get a haircut, that's why. No f***ing way are you going to sit next to me at a meeting with such a high profile prospect with that long hair of yours. What are you? A f***ing samurai?" His face was red with anger. This was one of those rare moments. Andrew remembered how angry Mr.Rusakov was when Darryl, Andrew's teammate, had committed a huge blunder in making accounting entries into the computer system causing a huge embarrassment and loss to their firm. He had a similar expression now. Still, Andrew protested, "What's wrong with my hair? It is in adherence to the HR policies. It is well groomed. It is tied well and looks professional. Actually, my hair is shorter than yours!" he added pointing to his sides and back. He was right. The sides and back were cut at a #1 length just 3 days back. Mr.Rusakov always wore a medium buzzcut, about #3 or #4 all over. Mr.Rusakov did not take that lightly. He was further infuriated by Andrew's statement. He grilled his teeth and said with a red face, "Andrew. Listen to me. Get in that f***ing barber's chair. NOW! Don't tell me what are the f***ing HR policies at my own firm. The boss is always right." With this, he grabbed Andrew by his shoulder. He really was creating a scene. People passing by were looking at them. Andrew was getting embarrassed by the whole scene. But there was no way in hell that he was going to cut his beautiful hair any shorter. "You know what? I don't need this from you," he declared and walked a couple of steps back. Mr.Rusakov grabbed him by the shoulder and said sternly, "Andrew. You listen to me. This is very important for us. We get this client and we make lots of money. We earn good reputation in the market. You get a bonus. The entire team gets a bonus. It's just a trim so that the hair does not looked piled up like it is in that stupid samurai knot." Andrew succumbed to the pressure. What could he have done? Walked away from his job and ruined his career? In an industry where contacts and references were key, he knew he could not risk doing that. The words 'just a trim' echoed in his ears. Not that he wanted to get anywhere close to the barber, but he thought that he would tell the barber to just cut off an inch or two and have the hair slicked back. He could even wear a hat. But really, who in their 20's wore hats indoors in office meetings? Mr.Rusakov's grip was strong. The ex-military man still had that rage and anger in him, he thought.

They walked in to the barbershop. It was a simple old-fashioned barbershop. Andrew had walked past by it many times. He used to lurk on the other side of the sidewalk wearing his sunglasses and on the phone taking small strolls to peep inside the barbershop to get a peek at the haircutting action going on through the glass window. It would have looked awkward had he stood right across staring inside the barbershop, but the sunglasses helped cover that. He would look from the corner of his eyes while appearing to looking in some other direction.

This was a tiny barbershop with just 3 barber chairs. No seating room. There were just two barbers, brothers, he presumed, in their late thirties. Sometimes, it would be just one barber in the shop, sometimes, both. They would schedule such that there would be two barbers in the afternoons, when they expected more customers. Most of the customers always got a slight trim. This was a barbershop in the downtown area with lots of office buildings. The barbershop customers would be working professional men getting their businessman haircut's trimmed every 3 weeks or so. No headshaves, extreme buzzcuts, butches, mohawks or the like. At least, Andrew had not seen any.

The barber was already aware of the 'situation' from the loud argument he had heard from outside his shop. He greeted Andrew with a feeble smile and pointed to the last chair. Turning to Andrew's manager, he greeted Mr.Rusakov with a handshake, "Hello Mr.Rusakov! I see you have got me a new customer. Will you be getting a haircut later...?" Mr.Rusakov interrupted him mid-question, "No. It'll just be this gentleman over here. Give him a short haircut. Basically, get rid of that samurai knot on his head. He works for me. We have a meeting and I want him to look professional. Also, no drastic change in length between the top and the sides. I see young men these days get it. My son, included. It just looks plain stupid. Some lazy barber must have come up with that hairstyle, no blending whatever needed!" He shook his head in disbelief. The barber was a bit confused but tried to agree, "Ahh, yeah. I hear you. It's in fashion these days among the younger folks. Don't worry, I won't give him that haircut. Let me see what I can do with him." Mr.Rusakov added with a warm handshake, "Mike, I trust you. I've known you for, what, umm, over 7 years now. I know you will do a fantastic job. Add it to my account." And with that, he left.

Andrew was half-listening to the conversation and half-thinking of whether he should quit his job, whether he should file a complaint somewhere and what would happen to his beautiful hair. Quitting his job was not an option. So early in his career, he did not want to take such a drastic move. Who knew how long it would take him to find another job. He did not have much savings and had to pay for his student loans, apartment rent and stuff. Who would he file a complaint to? The HR department? Well, this guy was a founding partner of the company, with the only other founding partner no more alive. It would be difficult to prove how he still looked professional and how this was acceptable. 'F*** it!' he thought, 'let's just hope that the barber leaves it pretty long on the top.'

The barber turned his attention to the guy in his chair and greeted him now with a warm smile. He put his hands on the guy's shoulders to comfort him a little. "I am Mike and I suppose that you work for Mr.Rusakov?" He had a thick New Jersey Italian accent and seemed to shrug his shoulders whenever he spoke. Andrew nodded. "Jeez man, what were you thinking when you went in to work, to freaking Rusakov's office, with a haircut like that?" That did not comfort Andrew. Yeah, really, what was he thinking? Mike added, "I've known Mr.Rusakov for many years now. Always impeccably dressed and with the same short haircut always. The man says he was in the military. You should have been more careful. Now, let's see what we have here and what we can do." With that, Mike felt the velvet-like short sides and back. "Seems like this was cut recently? A #1, do you know?" he asked doubtful if Andrew knew what those terms meant. Andrew spoke for the first time, "Yeah, got it cut just over the weekend. It is a #1 on the sides and back. Listen, please. I don't want to cut my hair. Can you please not cut it?" Mike shook his head gently, "Not happening young man! Unless you really don't want to, then I will let you go. But then, what are you going to do when you get back to work?" Andrew knew his hair was definitely getting cut. He pleaded, "Just give it a slight trim." Mike was hesitant, "I don't know man, that Rusakov clearly said he wanted it to be short and look professional." He said, "You see, with this undercut style, there's not many options available. The sides and back are so short and cut so high up, if I want to blend it, I will have to cut the top down really short and then blend over here," he said pointing at Andrew's temples. "Another option is, I go much shorter on the sides and back and then blend slightly below, but still, the top would have to be cut short. One more option is to give you a complete buzzcut. You said you have a #1 on the sides and back. I would continue that and take the top down to a #1. Or else, the last options are a #0 buzzcut, which would be basically bald or a complete headshave with the works - shaving cream and a straight razor." Andrew had an immediate worried look on his face. He was almost tearing up. He mustered some courage and said, "But...I... I don't want to cut my hair that short." The barber shot back quickly, "Well, what were you thinking when you cut these sides and back so short? There's really not many options if you want a conservative look, you see." That was true. There really wasn't much to do. Mike pulled out a fresh neck strip and with that, he tightly strapped the barber's cape around Andrew's neck; as if to ensure that he does not run away. He then grabbed a pair of haircutting shears and with a quick snip, cut the knot on the top of Andrew's head. The knot gave way easily to the sharp shears. Although long and beautiful, Andrew's hair was not too thick or rough. Mike added, "With this knot out of the way, we can possibly think of more options." Andrew's face was aghast! He could not believe that the barber had just snipped off over five inches of his hair in one strike. Without properly discussing with him. More like, 'hacked off' than 'cut'. His heart dropped. He was in disbelief. Mike was actually amused at how the knot was still held together well by the hairtie. He bounced the ball of hair in his hand a couple of times. The hair was still held in place by the hairtie. After bouncing his hair a couple of times, Mike let the 'bun' fall on the ground. After the first major snip, the remaining long hair had fallen down and was now covering the sides and back of Andrew's head. Pulling up the still long hair, Mike suggested, "You see, this top has to be cut down short, and I mean really short, if you want to have a nice fade. Or just a buzzcut. Whatever you prefer. I suppose Mr.Rusakov will not care either ways." Andrew was still tongue-tied. He was about to cry. His beautiful long hair, his pride, had just been hacked by a completely random stranger, almost without his consent. He knew that he was expecting it. As someone who used to visit haircutting websites, watch videos and read stories and blogs, he knew that an undercut cut so high and tight up the sides and back did actually present challenges when looking for a change in style.

"Just buzz it all off down to a #1." There, he said it. No more thinking, no more worrying, no more crying and no more fear. He had just said it and that was now going to happen. As if he had many choices. He had to get back to work quickly and not waste time.

Pleased with the answer, Mike cheerfully said, "I think a buzzcut will look great on you, young man." No, it would not. Actually, it would. Andrew knew that. He did have great facial features which would be complemented well with a tight buzzcut. But the 'undercut bun' was so stylish and sexy. It was giving him all the attention from other gay men, something that he was desperately seeking. The barber did not ask for confirmation on the #1 buzzcut. He was also concerned that Andrew may change his mind. He quickly grabbed the clippers hanging from a hook and picked up the #1 blade from his set of blades neatly arranged in order. He changed the blade and grabbed a comb and swept all the long hair to Andrew's left side. The barber started at the sideburns. He was going to go over the sides and back first, sharpening the #1 buzz. Not much hair was cut. It was just a 3 days' growth. There were short hair clippings on Andrew's shoulders. The barber turned to his back and continued clipping the hair up there. When done with the right side and back, he combed all the long hair on the top to the right side and continued clipping on the left side, starting from the sideburns, going up to the temples. He quickly inspected the parts he had cut. It looked good. He did not have to go over it again. Positioning the clippers on Andrew's forehead, he said, "Okay, here it goes." Andrew leaned back in the chair, pulling his head back. Mike stopped the clippers. Andrew spoke first, "You know what, if you are going to cut my hair so short, there really isn't much of a difference between 3/32 inches and zero inches." Mike was puzzled. "Wow, you really know the clipper lengths well." Of course he knew them. He was a hair fetisher and knew the different clippers and their blades. He could recite the blade lengths in his sleep. Also possibly because he would watch haircut videos in his bed right before going to sleep. Mike was still a bit puzzled, "So then, what do you mean?" Andrew let out a huge sigh and said, "Just shave my head bald. Like you said, with the works - lather and razor. That way, that Rusakov b*tch will know that I mean business as well. He wants it cut short, well, this is bald; you cannot get shorter than this. He will probably stop b*tching after that." He paused. "Do it!" His voice was firm. No longer shaky. He was clearly pissed. It seemed to him that if his beautiful long hair had to go, it might go completely as well. Indeed, there is not much difference between a #1 and a #0 and really not much between a #0 and bald. It would reach a #1 length in a week or two. He took a deep breath while Mike was switching the clipper blades. Mike snapped on a #00000. The top leftmost clipper blade in his collection. He was excited. Or maybe that was just the way he looked always.

Mike repeated the process of combing all the long hair on to Andrew's left side, exposing the short right side and back. He placed the clipper at the base of the right sideburn and moved the clippers up, firmly against the skin, which tightly pulling his skin gently. This was it. It was happening. The first stroke was long - from the base of the sideburns up to the temples when the long hair was waiting to be cut. Andrew moved his head slightly to see it in the mirror. The short hair covered the clippers, while some fell on to the cape. Mike continued the clipper work on the right side and then moved to the back. He was clipping off all the hair down to skin. Andrew's beautiful white skin was revealed with each swipe of the clippers.

Andrew had imagined and dreamt of this many times as his fantasy - to get his head shaved bald. He had jerked off to that imagination many times. But now that this was actually happening, he wasn't getting even an erection under the cape. This was not exciting at all. It was probably because he wasn't really into it. He did not want to shave his head, but was doing it anyways.

With the comb in his left hand, Mike now moved the hair on the top to the right side to reveal the left side of his head. The barber took the clippers and fired them up. He started from the base of the sideburn and proceeded to move them up the left side of Andrew's head. All the hair was clipped off. Now, what remained was the long beautiful hair on the top of his head. It was much beautiful earlier before Mike had hacked off the hair bun. It was still long and beautiful when Mike combed it down to one side. The teeth of the comb actually felt strange on the side of his head when the barber combed the hair on the top on to one side. He roared up the clippers and placed them on Andrew's forehead. Combing his hair again, for the last time, for a long time possibly, Mike moved the clippers over the top. All the beautiful hair fell down in one swipe. This was a tragic moment for Andrew. There was no going back now. The barber continued buzzing the beautiful long hair on the top of his head down to just stubble. Some of the long locks got buzzed but were still on his head. Mike moved the comb over Andrew's head once again and the beautiful hair fell down and joined the rest of the hair already on his shoulders. Andrew was hoping this ordeal would end soon. And it did. Mike made three more swipes with the clippers and down came all the hair. With his hands, Mike pushed down the hair on Andrew's shoulders. "There you have it. All buzzed off."

Andrew looked at himself in the mirror. Who was that sitting there? Definitely not him. He had never cut his hair so short. This was buzzed down to the skin. He did look good. He was pleasantly surprised. The hairless look looked great on him. He took his hand out from under the cape and felt the stubble. It felt good. He had felt bald heads of other men, but this was different. He knew how it felt to be touched on his bald head and by himself.

The barber was not done yet. He was over at the sink with a white towel in his hands, under hot running water. He squeezed the extra water from the towel and walked back to Andrew. He looked at Andrew in the mirror and asked, "Are you ready for the shave?" But without waiting for a response from Andrew, Mike wrapped the hot towel on his head and left again. The hot towel felt great on his head. It felt very relaxing. It wasn't a cold day. At all. But it still felt good.

Mike came back with a bowl of shaving cream that he was mixing well with a shaving brush. He carefully applied the hot lather on Andrew's head. The feeling of bristles on his almost-bald head gave him a ticklish feeling. The hot lather felt good. Mike placed a towel on Andrew's right shoulder, replaced the blade in his straight razor and started at the backside of Andrew's head. The sharp razor quickly removed any stubble in its path. He wiped the razor on the towel he had placed on Andrew's shoulder. Within 3-4 strokes, the back was completely devoid of any hair. The barber then proceeded to the right side and shaved the side completely. He repeated the treatment on the left side. Then he stood almost in front of Andrew and tilted his head slightly forward. Placing the razor at the crown, he gently slid it across the top of Andrew's head.

Andrew was controlling his tears for so long, but this was too much for him to control. The thought of the razor removing all the hair from the top of his head brought tears to his eyes. This was the beautiful long hair that he had grown for so long and now it was completely shaved off. How much he had cared of it. It was his pride. All gone now. Completely. The tears rolled down his cheeks and fell on to the cape. He sniffled a bit and Mike noticed it. He offered Andrew a bottle of water, but he refused. He continued shaving the rest of the top. When he was done, he lifted Andrew's face. This was the first time he had seen himself shaved completely bald in the mirror. His eyes were sad. He wiped the tears off with his hand and then felt his new bald head.

Mike asked, "Do you want me to shave against the grain? It will be smooth as a baby's bottom!" Andrew thought for a moment and replied, "No, thanks. This looks good." "You sure?" came another question. "It won't take me too long." Andrew declined, "I appreciate it, but no, thanks." Mike did not push him any further. "Alright, my man. Let me just clean you up." With that, he removed the towel from Andrew's shoulder and placed it under the sink. He grabbed another white towel and held it under cold water. He wrapped it around Andrew's bald head and let it sit for a minute. The cold towel seemed to cool Andrew's emotions down. Mike removed the towel and wiped Andrew's face clean with it. He applied some after-shave lotion to the freshly shaved head. Andrew felt a slight tingling, but not as bad as he had expected. He kept on staring at himself in the mirror. He had a blank face devoid of any emotion. He was too traumatized to express any emotions by this point. The barber removed the cape and a heap of hair just fell onto the floor. The barber grabbed a blow-dryer and just ran it over Andrew's head and shoulders to ensure that there are no remnants of hair sticking to his head or clothes. The hot air blast on his bald head brought memories of how he used to blow dry his long hair and style it.

"You look great, man!" exclaimed Mike. "I am sorry for doing this to you." He sounded genuine. "Your boss wanted you to do this and it seemed like you had no choice!" He was correct. "Don't worry about paying me. I will charge Mr.Rusakov the next time he visits me. Maybe I should shave him bald too," he said with a chuckle. Andrew tipped him for his service, which he refused to accept. They shook hands and Andrew left.

It was a new beginning for him. Walking back to work, he felt as if everyone was staring at him. That was actually because he was staring at others for too long to see their responses and they were just staring back at him, wondering why this bald man was looking at them.

He showed the ID to the security guard at the front desk of his office building. The person in the picture did not exactly match the bald man. All the long hair was missing. But the security guard recongized Andrew and let him in. 'I should get a new picture taken, probably," he made a mental note.

The elevator doors opened. He was now going to have to face everyone at work. Should he tell them about Mr.Rusakov, or should he just say that he decided it was time for a drastic change, he wondered.

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