Free Caveman by V. Andrian

can in one hand and taking it out in one careful sweep. The hair is left in my hand and I feel a thrill tightening my stomach. I want to cut his hair like it was in the picture. If he shaves the beard too, he’ll be just like it, I’m sure. Only I haven’t taken the full amount of his handsomeness in reality in consideration and I’m afraid what it could do to me.
    As a woman who has visited the hairdresser’s numerous times, I know in theory what to do to cut it evenly but it takes much more effort than in theory. I make slow work of his back hair before moving to one side and then the other. I intend to leave the top a little longer, just like it’s in the picture.
    I love the feel of his hair between my fingers. Sadly, my crush hasn’t faded now that I met him. Which only means it will be harder for me to leave him. My heart actually clenches at the thought of simply walking away. It feels all wrong.
    “So, when I leave,” I start casually, “you’ll be alone again.” A lump forms in my throat and I have to swallow several times to push it down. “Don’t you miss being with other people?”
    It takes him some time to answer. “Yeah, I guess. It’s nice being alone though. I certainly don’t miss the noise of the traffic or the pollution covering the air. Besides, I wouldn’t have chosen this place if I didn’t like it.”
    I like that he talks to me but I think he’s not being entirely honest. I’m not going to push him though. “Well, your hair is ready. Do you want me to do your beard next?”
    “Um…” he fumbles with his beard and I hold my breath. Whether he tells me to shave him or not, I’m about to see his face more clearly now that the hair is out of the way. “Can you cut as much as you can? I’ll do the rest but I don’t actually have a mirror, so…”
    “First,” I say with a small smile, “ I have a mirror. When was the last time you heard a woman travelling without one?”
    He chuckles. “True.”
    “And second, I can do the shaving if you want. We don’t have shaving cream though and it might sting a little.”
    “No, it’s okay. Just cut as much as you can.”
    “Okay then,” I say and my heart starts beating wildly.
    I walk around and stand right in front of him. He tilts his head back to meet my gaze and my lips tilt upwards the moment I see him. His eyes are now easily visible without being obstructed by the curtain of hair. He looks less like a caveman and more like a rock star. A sexy as hell rock star.
    I clear my throat when I realize I’ve been staring at his face like a lovesick puppy and squat in front of him. He opens his legs to accommodate me and I have to force my eyes to remain on his face. “Now you need to stand still for a whole different reason. I will try to cut as close to your skin as possible so you’ll have less to shave so… Not a muscle.”
    I work from left to right since I’m right-handed, to get over the hard side first and then move to the other one. The problem is that I feel his eyes on me the whole time and being this close to him has my body burning. If I put my knees on the floor, I’ll be in perfect position to unzip his pants and—
    “I’m sorry,” he says, cutting my very inappropriate thoughts short.
    “For what?” I try for nonchalant but I sound breathless. His eyes are fixed on mine and everything inside me tightens.
    “For having you look for me. For leaving without telling anyone where I was going and eventually causing you to crash on your way to find me.”
    I look away because I can’t look at him and form coherent thoughts. “I know you had your reasons. You don’t have to explain them to me. And it’s as you said it. No one was to blame for the plane crashing. It just happened.”
    He stays silent and I keep trimming his beard. I see the change happening in front of my eyes and I still can’t believe how much better he looks. How handsome he really is. When I put the scissors down, I’m not surprised