Cut My Hair

We waste no time undressing each other and tumble onto the double bed. I feel Kjersten's fingers running through my short, and still slightly damp locks as she pulls me in for a long, passionate kiss, her tongue flitting over mine.

"I want to make you feel good too," I say, snaking my hand down to her hips.

To my surprise, Kjersten moves my hand aside. "Maidali," she says, "let's have today be about you, OK? I think you deserve that much."

I press my lips to hers for a moment. "Please?"

"Maidali, I don't know how to say this," she starts. "I like you, OK? I think you're sexy and I'd love nothing more than to have an orgasm by your hand." She strokes my hair again before continuing. "But I'm afraid that this would turn out to be just a one night thing. And -- and, I'd really like you to have a reason to come back."

I nuzzle Kjersten's chest and enjoy the gentle feeling of her hand running over and through my hair. I'm feeling like a schoolgirl again. "How is it you always know just the right thing to say?"

"Really?" she says. "You're not upset?"

"Kjersten, how can I be upset? You've shown me more respect in the past eighteen hours than most guys have shown me in months of dating. Particularly that last asshole. God, I'm so glad to be done with him."

"Maidali, I really wish you'd reconsider talking to the police."

I shake my head and Kjersten doesn't press the issue. She just continues stroking my hair as I lay my head back down on her chest.

"There's a rowing team cookout and bonfire next weekend," she says. "You wanna come? You could meet some new people, maybe expand your circle of friends a little. Besides, I'm selfishly hoping to make some of the other girls a little jealous when I show up with you on my arm."

I snuggle my head onto her shoulder. "You mean like, show up as your date?"

"Yeah," she says, "as my date. We can bring your red dress. Throw it on the bonfire if you want."

I smile. "I like that idea."

Kjersten hugs me to her chest and runs her fingers through my hair. I sigh, and think about how well things are going for me. And how much more I like my hair now that it's short again.

*

Epilogue

It's a beautiful spring day, not a cloud in the sky, as I ring the bell for Kjersten's apartment. We're going up to Millennium Park for a concert this afternoon, our second real date. It's my reward for getting myself re-enrolled in school and signed up for abuse counseling.

While I'm waiting, I bend down to pick up her copy of the Tribune. I'm leafing through the back pages to see if I've somehow magically won the Powerball jackpot, when I come across a small article with a familiar picture by it.

'Violence on UofC campus,' reads the headline. 'Esteemed professor hospitalized after bludgeoning attack. Police believe this was a targeted act of violence and that students are not in any danger. Suspect is described as wearing a bright blue baseball cap. Anyone with information should contact ...'

I stop reading, fold the paper and clutch it under my arm. I straighten up and peer at my reflection in the glass. With my free hand I reach up to push the top of my hair over to one side. I want to look good when my girlfriend comes to the door, and it's so much easier to do now that my hair is short again.

* * *

Afterword

My muse and part-time content adviser has pointed out that most BDSM-themed stories show dominant pronouns and titles in uppercase, while submissive titles, pronouns, and even proper names appear in lowercase. I agree with my muse on the fact that it is indeed a common tradition. However, you will notice that my stories always follow the more general English rules for casing. (For more on that, see the Wikipedia article for "proper nouns".)

The reason I choose to break with the BDSM tradition is because I think that the case distinction is used to suggest that the submissive partner is somehow less important than the dominant partner. I could not disagree more with this stance. In fact, if you are a regular reader of my stories you will see that both partners have equal importance, even in dom-sub relationships. They take on different roles, yes, but neither is more or less of a person because of it.

Still don't believe me? I'll give you the example of my dog. Is he submissive to me? Yes. Am I dominant over him? Yes. Do I feel the need to degrade him by spelling his name out in all lowercase letters? No.

So, if this break from tradition has been bothering you in any way, I want to let you know that I am aware of it, and I do it on purpose. If it still bothers you, then there are plenty of other stories out there to read besides mine.

I hope you have enjoyed this one. Please let me know in the comments.

-WP-