Choosing Him

  Wanting Him

  Emily took a quick look at herself in the car mirror. She powdered her nose and retouched her lip gloss before sighing nervously. She was parked outside Jolie Salon, a few minutes early for her appointment.

  "What are you doing?! You're just going in for a conditioning treatment, relax." She could tell herself to relax but she couldn't, she was too excited to see Ryan.

  One Month Earlier

  "Who's that?" Emily leaned in a little closer and asked her manicurist hoping no one could hear her.

  "Who?" Jenna looked around then followed Emily's gaze to the tall, dark-haired, handsome man sitting at a stylist's station. "Oh that's Ryan, he's new here. Kinda quiet but nice. I heard he's an ex-Marine."

  "An ex-Marine? Well that explains those muscles." Emily tried to stop staring at him but there was nothing better to look at. She watched Ryan reach into his messenger bag and pull out a paperback and felt her heart leap into her chest.

  "Oh my God, he reads?!" Emily said.

  Jenna didn't comment. Seeing the book sent Emily over the edge and she decided she needed a hair appointment. She didn't think there was anything sexier than a man who enjoyed reading.

  ***

  Emily was pretty, shy, a book lover and a bit overweight. At her last physical her doctor called her a "big girl" and told her she needed to lose weight. She wasn't stupid, she knew she could lose a little weight but she had tried everything and the weight wouldn't budge. Despite her weight and her insecurities, she knew that she could walk into a room and every eye would be on her. She knew how to dress to flatter her figure and while her damned doctor might call her a "big girl", Emily would much rather think of herself as voluptuous and curvy, words her many handsome boyfriends had used to describe her.

  Emily came last week to get her hair cut by Ryan and not only did her hair look amazing afterward, but she had a great time and found they had a lot more in common than just reading. As she was leaving she impulsively booked a conditioning treatment with him figuring that would give her another chance to see him. Today was that appointment.

  She tried to dress cute but not too cute and ended up wearing a short skirt with a v-neck t-shirt. She didn't want it to seem obvious she was trying to get Ryan's attention, but she'd be damned if she didn't show up looking her best. She entered the salon and the receptionist said Ryan was running a bit behind. Emily peeked over at his station, saw an older woman flirting with him and then sat in the waiting area.

  ***

  Ryan looked at his hair-cutting station and made sure everything was in its proper place. When he retired from the Marines he thought he could live cheaply enough on the pension. No one expected the economy to tank as quickly as it did. Ryan spent his 20 years cutting hair, now that he needed a civilian job he figured do what you know.

  Ryan looked down the row of hair-cutting stations at the young girls, "stylists" they liked to be called. Each of them tanned, thin and in a skimpy outfit. He saw the eye candy a perk for working there but didn't think any of them were really his type. He didn't like women so thin he was afraid they'd break if he touched them.

  The pager vibrated in his pocket to alert him of his next client's arrival. Ryan got up, tossed his paperback into a drawer and quickly looked at himself in the mirror before retrieving his client.

  "Barbara?" He waited for an older woman who nodded when he said her name.

  He'd been getting a lot of new clients lately, mostly referrals. He found most of them to be bored housewives who wanted to flirt and he really didn't mind that. The clientele there was much better than giving new recruits their first buzz cuts.

  He walked Barbara over to his chair and stood in front of her.

  "Tell me about your hair. Is there anything in particular you want help with?" He always asked the same question to his new clients. He figured it was a good way for him to sell them on products and services and it made them think he cared.

  "My color really needs help..." Barbara described every problem with her hair.

  Sometimes that happened, that one simple question of his could lead to so much and not wanting to completely disappoint a new client, he'd end up giving them more time than was scheduled.

  Barbara started flirting relentlessly once she finished talking about her hair. Ryan was often surprised how aggressive and lewd some women could be.

  He saw someone enter the salon out of the corner of his eye and turned when he thought it was Emily. He hated keeping his clients waiting, especially the sweet, sexy ones. He started to rush through Barbara's hair so his schedule wasn't too off especially because he wanted to make sure Emily's conditioning treatment had enough time.

  Earlier that day Ryan saw that Emily was on his client list for a conditioning treatment, his specialty. He liked her. She was sweet and she wasn't like his other clients with their innuendo. Plus she had dangerous curves, that was what made a woman a woman. If he wanted someone skinny and flat-chested, he'd might as well date a guy.

  Ryan finished styling Barbara's hair and began cleaning his station for his next client, Emily.

  "Call me sometime," Barbara came up behind him and handed him his tip with her phone number.

  He got a lot of numbers that way. He watched as she left and then threw out her number. He had one rule–never mix business with pleasure. It would take someone really special for him to break that rule.

  ***

  Emily nervously chewed her bottom lip. She hated waiting. She just didn't have the patience for it. She flipped through one of many beauty magazines and looked at the pictures.

  She glanced up and saw Ryan's last client finally leave and after a minute he came to the waiting area.

  "Emily? I'm sorry about the wait." He smiled at her. "I'm glad you came back. You're going to love this treatment. Your hair will feel great afterwards."

  Emily looked up at him and smiled. He had the warmest green eyes. She wondered what it would feel like to run her fingers through his wavy brown hair. She followed him to his station and sat down.

  "The whole process takes about 45 minutes. First I'll wash your hair, then we'll come back here and I'll apply the specialized conditioner and then put you under the drier for 30 minutes."

  "30 minutes?!" She was disappointed. Had she known she was going to spend most of the appointment sitting under a drier she wouldn't have bothered. The whole point for this appointment was for her to work her charm on him.

  He led her to the sinks, covered her with a long black cape, and washed her hair. His strong hands felt so good in her hair she wondered what they would feel like on the rest of her body.

  They walked back to his station and when she sat the black cape billowed around the chair. She looked at herself in the mirror and only her head was visible. So much for her cute outfit, everything was covered. She moved her arms under the cape but there was so much fabric she might as well be a floating head.

  He kept looking at her and her mind raced. She was trying to be clever and funny, basically perfect, but there wasn't enough time. He finished applying the conditioner and rolled the dryer over.

  "I'll check on you in a few minutes." He turned on the dryer and left.

  Ryan brought a small stack of the beauty and fashion magazines for her to look at so Emily sat and flipped through one looking at the pictures again. The heat of the drier felt cozy and Emily's eyes closed for a bit.

  She opened them quickly, fighting sleep when she saw Ryan walk past with his next client–a tall, thin, beautiful, blonde who obviously wasn't wearing a bra. She wanted to watch and see how he was with her. Would he flirt? She bet herself the girl's name was something like Kandi and she dotted the "i" with a heart. She knew it was stupid, but she was jealous. She tried hard to not doze off b
ut between the heat and the hum of the drier, she didn't have much choice.

  ***

  "Great, let's get your hair washed."

  Ryan led Kandi to a small empty room. She sat down by the sink and crossed her legs. He pulled out the cape but she shook her head.

  "No thanks, I know you won't get me wet" she giggled and leaned back in the seat, giving him a full shot of her cleavage. She wiggled in the seat and her boobs jiggled so easily it was obvious she wasn't wearing a bra.

  Standing alongside of her, Ryan turned on the water and began wetting her hair with the nozzle in one hand, massaging her long hair with his other hand. She let out a soft moan.

  "Is everything ok? Is the water too hot?" his eyes moved down from her hair. Kandi's nipples were erect, making her shirt seem even thinner.

  "Ooh its perfect" she breathed "I guess I was wrong though, you are getting me wet" she smiled up at him and he felt her hand slide up his khakis so he took an involuntary step back.

  She looked confused "I've seen you looking at me. I'm not blind you know." She reached for his belt buckle and pulled him closer. "Please finish washing my hair." She looked up at him with her big eyes and he continued washing her hair again.

  Kandi's hand slid up his leg again. He moved closer to her, his hard cock now pushing itself against his pants. She looked back up at him and smiled as her hand slid over his cock and started rubbing it.

  He dried his hands off and turned off the water as she continued to stroke him. He moved his hand down and over her soft tits, feeling them over her thin shirt. He let his hand roughly cup one of her breasts and rubbed his thumb over her nipple. She sighed with pleasure and with one quick motion pulled off her shirt and placed his hand on her now bare breasts.

  Her skin was soft and silky which made the hardness of her nipples seem even more so. He pinched her nipples and she moaned. He gently tugged them with his fingertips and she unbuckled his belt, unzipped his pants and pulled his thick cock out.

  She smiled looking at his cock then her warm mouth closed over it. She slid her mouth along his cock and when she reached the tip she would wiggle her tongue expertly over it.

  He continued to play with her beautiful tits, sliding his hands over them, then squeezing. Her nipples were so hard that he bent down and took one in his mouth and flicked her nipple with his tongue.

  "Oh yes!" she let go of his cock and massaged his balls with her hand. He sucked on her nipples and then bit one and she let out a little scream of pleasure. Ryan held on to the nipple between his teeth and tugged at it.

  She let go of his balls and just when he thought he might've gone too far she began unbuttoning her jeans.

  "Fuck me! Oh please fuck me already!" She quickly pushed her jeans off and spread her legs, letting each leg hang over the arm rests.

  It was his turn to smile as he took a step back and admired her beautiful naked body. Her hair was still wet and it sent drops down her chest, making her skin shine. Her feet dangled from the chair, her toes a dark red color, her pussy completely shaven.

  He walked over to the door to make sure it was locked and undressed. She smiled again but this time it wasn't as sweet, she had a naughty, wanton look in her eye but she quickly covered it up with her innocent wide eyes.

  "I really need you Ryan. Look how wet you got me." Kandi bit her bottom lip and slid her hands down the insides of her thighs and then towards her pussy. She slid one hand over her pussy then slowly dipped a finger in and began to breathe heavier. She spread her pussy lips with her hand and moved two fingers from her other hand over her pink clit. Her fingers glided over her clit several times, her hips began to writhe with them then she dipped both fingers deep into her pussy and moaned.

  "I really need your cock inside me now. Pretty please?" she grinned and pulled her fingers out. They glistened with her wetness as she spread her fingers and ran them alongside her clit, moving them faster.

  He stepped close to the chair and between her legs. She grabbed his cock firmly with one of her hands and began sliding her hand over his large shaft. He leaned down and kissed her, his tongue diving into her soft mouth, seeking her tongue.

  He easily picked her up with his hands on her hips, she wrapped her legs around his waist, his tip rubbed her clit. He carried her a few steps to the wall where he pressed her back against it. Still kissing her, he moved his hips and let his cock dive into her pussy.

  "Oh fuck yes! Yes, fuck me!" she held onto him tightly as he did exactly what she asked. His hands were on her ass as his cock slipped in and out of her wet pussy. Suddenly her moans got a little louder and she bit his shoulder, trying to be quiet. As he felt her body shudder he slid his cock out of her and put her down, not wanting to cum in her. She quickly got on her knees, took his cock into her mouth and stroked his balls. The blow-job after everything was too much and she pulled him out of her mouth and stroked him as he came over her tits.

  ***

  "Wakey, wakey Emily"

  She heard Ryan's voice and her eyes flew open. She felt the blood rush to her cheeks as she remembered her dream and looked around for his beautiful client.

  "You finished that client already?" Emily spotted the girl looking at herself in the mirror.

  "Huh? Oh Janie, yes. She just needed a trim and I told her I could squeeze her in. I knew my sister would kill me if I didn't,"

  "Your sister?"

  "Yes sorry, I should've explained. Janie's my niece."

  "Oh? Really? That's great!" Emily realized she seemed a little too enthusiastic but she was just relieved her dream was nothing more than that.

  "Yeah, sweet kid. I keep trying to get her to cover up more but she won't listen to me and her mother still sees a 10 year old when she looks at her." He shook his head a little concerned. "What can you do? They have to grow up sometime."

  He began rubbing Emily's neck and shoulders. She felt every muscle in her body relax. His strong fingers on her got her a little wet. She imagined herself taking the place of "Kandi" in her dream, but she could never be so uninhibited.

  "You feel a little tense, maybe you should come over sometime and I'll help you relax."

  Emily just looked at him and smiled. He wrote his number on the back of his business card and gave it to her. She slipped it into her handbag and did a happy dance in her head.

  He took her to wash her hair again, then dried and styled it. She was too much in shock to say anything and didn't want to jinx herself so she just made small talk the rest of her time there. As she was leaving he caught up to her.

  "I was serious about what I said. Call me." Ryan gave her a strong hug. Emily felt his muscular body pressed against her, replayed his words in her head and thought I could really use some relaxing. She nodded, smiling as she left the salon.

  ***

  Emily agonized over calling him. She kept his card on top of her keyboard at work so she wouldn't obsess about it at home. To the casual observer it was just a salon business card, to Emily it was an offer of what she hoped was hot, passionate sex.

  After over a week of debating she flipped the card over again and saw he wrote he was off Mondays and Tuesdays. Today was Tuesday. She knew she was at work but maybe if he wasn't busy, she could take a long lunch. She dialed his number.

  "Hello?"

  "Umm hi, Ryan? This is Emily. From–"

  "I know who you are." He laughed. "How are you doin'? What are you up to?"

  "Oh I'm good. Not up to much." She was trying to sound casual. She wasn't used to having to call a guy, usually guys called her.

  "Well if you're not up to anything, maybe you can come over."

  "Umm ok, I'll be there in about an hour." She hung up the phone and her mind raced. Did she shave? Was she wearing matching undies?

  She left for lunch a little early and let her friends know she had some things to take care of so she'd be back late. As she drove to his house she wondered what she was doing. This was the exact thing her mother always warned her about. Wh
at was she doing going to a strange man's house? She thought about the weight of his hands on her shoulders and how good that felt and drove a little faster.

  Emily pulled up in front of his house. It was a small, one-level home with a big front lawn. She walked up to the door and rang the doorbell. Ryan answered almost immediately.

  "I thought I heard a car. Come in. I was just watching some tv."

  She entered his home. It was smaller than it looked like from the outside. In the living room a small tv sat in the corner. The only place to sit was on a small love seat.

  "Make yourself comfortable. Do you want a beer?"

  She hated beer.

  "Sure, sounds great."

  She sat on the love seat and looked around. There were stacks of paperback books everywhere and a very filled bookcase but not much furniture.

  "Did you just move in?"

  He came back from the kitchen with two bottles of beer and handed one to her.

  "No, I've been here a couple of years now." He looked around the room as if it was the first in a long time. "I guess I should do something about this place. She took most of the furniture."

  "She?"

  "Yes, my ex. She wanted to get married so she gave me an ultimatum." He shrugged. "All I ever told her was I would never marry. Even when she moved in I made that clear. Guess she thought she could change my mind."

  Emily nodded. She had a lot of friends who thought the same way. It was a way of thought she never really understood. She sipped her beer which wasn't as bad as she expected.

  He looked much more relaxed and comfortable than he did at the salon. He was wearing a pair of old jeans that were snug in all the right places and she couldn't help but let her eyes rest for a moment on his bulge.

  "So...this whole "come over sometime and I'll help you relax" line, do you use it often?" She knew why she was there but she'd be damned if she was going to just be another notch on his bedpost.