The next set of scenes they filmed were a bunch of crowd scenes. Concert scenes. It required a lot of extras, a lot of work with their instruments, and a lot of attention to their outfits and hair. During those days, there was a hair and makeup trailer. A place where all of the actors would go to get their hair and makeup done. It became like a big hangout for the cast and crew.
They would always have music playing to pump everyone up. It was always some classic rock or some peppy, happy song to wake people up or get them pumped for the day's tasks. I would sit behind Joe as he got his wig on and makeup done. I would usually sing along to the music and play on my phone. Julio, Joe's hair stylist, would make small conversation with Joe as the wig and makeup would come together and form his final look.
I would also talk to Julio a bit. Making jokes and small talk while he worked on Joe. It would usually take about a half an hour before they would leave to begin filming. I would usually leave with him and watch him film those concert scenes. Waiting in the wings and cheering him on. I was allowed to be as loud as I wanted because no matter how loud I was, the crowd would always be louder. But, today, I stayed behind in the trailer for a little bit. Joe sat up from his chair and looked back at me with his long Deacy hair. He reached his hand out for me to grab and followed him to set.
"You coming?" he asked with a smile.
"Maybe in a second," I said with a smile. "Just want to send this last email. The reception in here is better than on the stage." Joe shrugged.
"Okay, I'll see you out there." We exchanged smiles and he left the trailer. I finished sending my email. It was responding to a company who wanted to sponsor my next video. I explained to them my situation and how I had pre-recorded all of my videos. I worded it very delicately in hopes that they would want to sponsor me again in the future when I could actually make a video for them.
I hit send and looked around the trailer. Julio was walking around, putting away some of his supplies. Rami was still in his chair getting his nose prosthetic and teeth set on. I stood up from the couch and stared at myself in the mirror. Staring at myself like that made me realize that I hadn't gotten a haircut since I started dating Joe. My brown, slightly wavy hair now fell just past my breasts.
Over the past couple of weeks, I would only have it up in buns or ponytails to keep it out of my face and out of my way. It was becoming very annoying and I wanted it gone. I was hoping this wouldn't happen because I didn't know any hairdressers in London. I started to push and pull on my hair. Trying to push it into submission to look better than it was. I sighed at my reflection.
"You look fine, don't be so hard on yourself," Rami said from his chair. He glanced over at me as his stylist messed around with his wig. I gave him a small laugh.
"I know I look fine, I just think my hair is too long. I haven't had it cut in over a year. It's super long." I pulled at the ends of it. "It's getting annoying. I think I just want it gone." I said with another laugh. Rami got up from his chair and patted my back.
"I'll see you out there," he chuckled. He left the trailer. I didn't know it, but Julio was listening in to our conversation. He watched my poke and prod my hair.
"Do you want me to cut it?" He asked. I turned and looked at him. Shocked at his suggestion. I quickly glanced back at myself in the mirror coming to terms with how long my hair truly was. I had a choice in my head. Keep the long hair and be annoyed every day or get it cut right now and be happy with the newfound freedom. I chose freedom. I turned back to Julio.
"Would you do that for me?" I asked, twirling the ends of my hair around my finger.
"Sure, I've got nothing else to do for a while. It would be fun." He gave me a small smile.
"Let's do it then. I'm tired of how long it is." I flipped it with my hand, making it fly behind my back. Julio gestured toward his chair and I sat down. He grabbed a smock from another part of the trailer and came back to wrap it around my neck. He started to touch my hair, getting a feel for the texture and how it fell from my head.
"How short do you want it?" he asked. Without missing a beat, I responded.
"Short!" I said. Then, I elaborated. "I want it about shoulder length." I described exactly what I wanted. How I wanted side bangs and layers that framed my face well. Julio seemed surprised that I knew exactly what I wanted in short hair.
"Have you had it this short before?" He asked.
"Yeah, once when I was younger. But, I've had a lot of time to think about this," I replied.
"Alright, let's get you over to the sink and start." He guided me over to the sink to wash my hair. I had to take my glasses off and I couldn't see very well. He washed my hair and helped me back over to the chair. But, I still tripped over another chair and almost fell to the ground. We both laughed at what happened.
"Sorry, I can't see very well."
"That's alright," he said with a laugh. I sat back down in the chair and he began cutting. He made a dramatic cut to start and I gasped. It was happening. I had wanted a haircut for so long that I was amazed it was finally happening. I started giggling. "Is that an okay length?" he asked.
"Yes, it's perfect," I replied. He kept cutting and we made small talk. I couldn't really see what it looked like in the mirror without my glasses. But, I trusted him to make me look good. Then, I had a realization. I gasped.
"What?" He thought he had hurt me or done something wrong.
"Oh, you did nothing wrong," I reassured. "I just realized that Joe doesn't know that I'm doing this. I mentioned I was annoyed by my hair before, but actually cutting it is a different story." I said. I pulled at my damp short hair. It was only halfway done.
"Well, it will be a nice surprise," Julio replied. I smiled and relaxed back in the chair to let him finish. He cut my hair just like I wanted. He added in layers and cut my side bangs perfectly. I put my glasses back on to check the length when he was all done.
"It's wonderful, thank you," I smiled. I flipped it around a couple times with my hand. My head felt so much lighter than before. I loved the new freedom it gave me. Once I had given my okay, Julio began drying my hair with a blow dryer. I flopped around my head so effortlessly it almost made me want to laugh. Feeling the short hair on my head made me so happy that I chose to cut it. When Julio was done and I put my glasses back on, I looked over at the clock. "It's lunchtime," I remarked.
"Yeah, it is. Do you want me to bring Joe in here to surprise him?" he asked, placing his head next to mine. We both stared at our reflections in the mirror. I nodded with a smile. "Okay." He patted my shoulders and left the trailer. He didn't even make it past the steps of the trailer before I heard Joe outside.
"Julio, have you seen Julie? She wasn't on set," He was worried that something had happened to me because I wasn't in the wings cheering him on. I positioned myself in the middle of the aisle near the door so Joe wouldn't miss me when he came in.
"Yeah, she's inside," That's all he said. No reference to my new look at all. I heard Joe stamped his way up a couple of steps to find me in the trailer. He had a look of concern; worried that something bad had happened to me.
"Julie, I-" He started, but he stopped immediately when he saw me. His concern dropped into shock. His mouth hung open and he scoffed, shaking his head. "This is where you've been?" he asked. Starting to walk towards me very slowly. I simply nodded. Feeling my hair hug my face in a new way.
I plunged my hand into the back of my hair, grabbing a part of it and twisting it in my fingers. I just wanted to feel the length again. My natural waves were enhanced by the short length and framed my face beautifully. My hair flipping up at the ends. When Joe got close enough to me, he reached his hand up and held the ends of my hair in his fingertips. He ran his fingers through it a couple times as well.
"You don't like it?" I asked with a smile. He was being quiet, so I wanted to get him to start talking again.
"N-No, no, I love it," he replied. His eyes darting between my face and my hair. "You look so pretty," he whispered. I placed my hand on his cheek and rubbed my thumb back and forth. He was lost in this change and I really liked it. He pulled me in for a hug. I wrapped my hands around his neck. He wrapped one arm around my waist and kept the other plunged into my hair.
"Now, what are you really thinking?" I asked in a whisper. There was no one else around, so I wanted to know everything that was going through his mind.
"I'm wondering what I'm going to grab onto now when...when we're in bed," I smiled and gave him a small giggle. I knew that's not what he wanted to say. He wanted to say 'when we fuck," but because he was on set, he felt weird saying it. He used to grab and pull on my hair, something that I love.
"You can still do that," I whispered. "It's just a little shorter now." There was a small pause. "Hell, I can still grab your hair when we do it." I brought my hand up to tickle the back of his neck. He still had his Deacy wig on so I couldn't grab his actual hair, but he knew what I wanted to do. He laughed at my actions. He pulled away from the hug and I pointed at the wig. "Plus, my hair's shorter than your's now," we both laughed.
When Joe stopped laughing, he just kept looking at me. Kept staring at me. I knew what that meant. I knew what he wanted. I placed my hand on his waist and kissed his cheek. I started to leave the trailer and Joe followed me like a little puppy. I walked down the steps and planted my feet on the ground, realizing that I had no idea where lunch was going to be. I turned around to see Joe right behind me. I could tell that he wanted to kiss me and put his hands all over me. I had seen this look before. But, he couldn't because he was at work.
"Joe?" I asked, knocking him out of his trance.
"Huh?" he responded.
"I don't know where lunch is," I said with a laugh. "Do you know where it is?"
"Yeah," he said in a soft tone of voice. "It's right here." I raised an eyebrow at him. "Because you're looking like a snack," he finished. He gave me a shy smile and a lusty look. He grabbed my waist and pulled me into another hug. I began hysterically laughing.
"Where on Earth did you hear that phrase?" I asked through my laughs.
"Instagram. I get called it all the time," This caused me to laugh a little more. He grabbed my arms and looked me dead in the eyes.
"Did I use it right?" he asked.
"Yes," I chuckled.
"Ok, good, cause I just guessed." Joe smiled. "But, you do look...really good," He started eyeing me up and down.
"Joseph Mazzello, do NOT get any ideas," I replied, wagging my finger at him.
"Too late," he replied. He would not take his gaze off me.
"Do you think you can stop ogling me long enough to eat something?" I asked. He gave me a slow nod. I pushed him lightly. This brought his eyes up to meet mine. I gestured to allow him to walk ahead of me. If he had walked behind me, we would have never made it to lunch. But eventually, he did and we walked to lunch.