I wanted to try a different writing style. Let me know what you guys think.
Chapter1. The Pretty Boy.
Anthony Lopez watched his son carefully out of the corner of his eye. His dark brows were furrowed together harshly as he eyed his every move critically. He watched how his son screwed up his face at every lock of hair that fell to the ground after every snip of the scissors. Santiago was always like this when he'd take him to get his haircut. He was only 10, but he had long, dark hair that fell into glossy waves to his mid-back.
Santiago's plump lips were drawn in a cute pout as the barber continued to cut his beautiful hair. His fine brows were furrowed in a scowl completely identical to his father's. Anthony played with his eye phone absently as he continued to analyze his son.
It was no secret his son was a pretty boy.
To Anthony pretty seemed to be an understatement. His son was beautiful. His long dark hair was shiny and soft as a feather. His son took great care of his godly mane, hence the countless bottles of shampoo and conditioner in his bathroom. He had dark hazel brown eyes that sparkled with mischief. Thick, yet neat eyebrows rested above his eyes. His lashes were insanely long and touched his cheeks every time he blinked. He had a perfect nose and large, red lips. His pearly white teeth and dimpled smile was added to his beauty.
Even though he was young, Anthony couldn't ignore how pretty his son was. He wasn't tall; in fact most of the girls in his class were taller than him. He had soft caramel skin that seemed to glow in the sunlight and a slender build. It was slender, but Anthony preferred to just call him skinny, slender was to girly.
Anthony just assumed his son got his looks from his beautiful wife, Suzanna. He most certainly didn't get it from him. Unlike his son, Anthony looked and acted like a man. He was tall, around 6'4 and had bulging muscles. His skin was tan and his hair was long and slicked back. He looked like a modern day greaser dressed in dark jeans, black Polo, and black Timberlands.
He didn't really like how at school, Santiago spent a lot of his time surrounded by girls. He didn't think his son had any male friends besides those two girly boys. He didn't know their names, but one had a lot of gel in his hair and the other one was almost as pretty as Santiago. Santiago usually spent most of his free time with two blonde girls who live around the corner from them.
It was so secret that his son lacked masculinity. He claimed it would pass once he hit puberty, but he couldn't deny it was true. Santiago didn't like playing in the dirt with other boys; instead he'd rather sit in the house and watch those corny romances with his older sister. He didn't play video games or build forts; he'd rather read a book or watch Oxygen.
He was reluctant to take his son to the father son games at the park. His co-workers always brought their sons and they would always end up playing football or basketball. Anthony would end up listening to his son talk about his day at school or kicking a soccer ball back and forth.
He couldn't talk sports with him; play games with him, heck he couldn't even get him to take out the trash because he didn't want to get dirty. You would think he was born the wrong gender.
He didn't even dress like other boys. They would wear graphic tee shirts and cargo shorts and Santiago would wear nice knit sweaters and form fitting jeans. He would braid his long hair into a neat, single braid down his back. Santiago studs in both ears instead of the just one his classmates would.
He didn't even play the sports other boys played. They played manly sports like Basketball, hockey, and football. Instead, Santiago loved to play soccer. To the boys in Lima, soccer was a girl's sport, so there were no male soccer teams much to Santiago's dismay. That didn't stop Santiago though; he found ways to play it. He would take his ball to the park some weekends and play with the local girls there until his parents would call him home.
"There you go son." The barber announced, taking the cover off the little boy's body. He handed a mirror to Santiago so he could check out his new haircut. Santiago ran his small hands through his much shorter hair with a small grimace. His long black hair was gone and replaced with a fade. His hair was still kind of long at the top and fell into his eyes.
Anthony sighed. He thought making the boy get a haircut would make him look more masculine, but it made him look even prettier. He put on a fake smile as the barber stood there with crossed arms, admiring his work. "Looks good son, I bet all the ladies would want a piece of you." The barber, Armand commented.
Santiago handed the mirror back to him. "Yeah, but I liked my hair long." He whined. "I feel naked."
Armand chuckled. "At least you have hair son." He pointed to his balding head with a pout. "Never take it for granted. It could be gone one day."
Santiago giggled at Armand as he wiped an invisible tear from his eye. Anthony winced at how girly the giggle sounded. For god sakes boys did not giggle! They chuckled. He thought to himself as he reached into his pocket for his wallet. "How much is it?" Anthony quizzed in his deep, accented voice.
Armand rubbed his chin. "I'll say about $45. The boy had quite a lot of hair. Heck probably had more hair than the women that come back here from time to time." Armand joked as he pointed to the beauty salon portion of the shop. The few girls in the back glared at Armand and flipped him off, making him chuckle.
"Here you go man. Thanks." Anthony said as he handed the man the money. Armand mock saluted as he stuffed the money into his cargo pocket. "Come back now you hear?"
Anthony nodded slightly. "You got it."
Anthony watched how his son waved goodbye to the women in the back, making them giggle.
"Such a beauty he is! If only my husband looked like that." A blonde commented as they exited the store.
"I don't know girl. I don't think I want a husband prettier than me." A dark skinned woman replied, making them all laugh out loud.
Anthony's eyebrows twitched in annoyance as they exited the shop. Santiago brushed his hair back from his eyes as he hand his dad walked across the street. Anthony sighed as he felt his son's hand enter his own. "Why do you still hold my hand? You're old enough to walk by yourself"
Santiago looked up at his dad with big eyes. "I like holding your hand." He replied with a slightly tearful voice.
"Why?" 10 year old boys did not hold their dad's hand.
"It's because I love you." He grinned, showing off his wide dimpled smile. Anthony sighed for the thousand times that day. If it were his daughter or even a younger Santiago he wouldn't have minded, but he wanted to teach his son to be manly. He wanted him to grow into the fine man he was. Holding his hand was not going to do the trick.
Don't get him wrong. He loved his son to pieces. He just wanted him to be just like him.
As they were walking home from the barber shop, they were approached by two little blonde girls. "Hi Tiago! Hi Anthony." The one with blue eyes chirped as they ran towards the duo. Santiago immediately perked up.
"Hi Brittany, hi Quinn!" He exclaimed happily.
Quinn gasped as she saw his new haircut. "You cut your beautiful hair!"
Santiago pouted. "Don't remind me. Without it, I feel like someone's going to bite the back of my neck." They giggled as they began walking back down the street. They came from the ice cream shop near the barber shop. The little shopping center was only a short walk from their neighborhood.
"That sucks! I loved braiding your hair! My sister taught me how to French braid." Brittany whined.
Santiago perked up again. He's always wanted a French braid. "Don't worry it will grow back."
"Oh I almost forgot! My mom got me a season set of Girl Code! Want to go watch it?" Brittany asked with a giant grin. Santiago mirrored her. Girl Code was his favorite show! It was a about a set of rules and regulations and stuff girls should and shouldn't do. He looked at his dad with pleading eyes.
"Can I go daddy? Please?" He said with a puppy dog pout.
Anthony sighed. He knew there was no going against that pout so he gave up instantly. He crossed his arms. "Fine, but be home by the time dinner starts." He advised. Santiago chirped happily as he hugged his dad, his head only coming up to his hips. Brittany and Quinn did the same, hugging the man tightly before running off.
Anthony shook his head as he eyed his son. Santiago even walked like a girl. He grimaced as he caught sight of his son hooking his arm into Brittany's as they walked away.
He sincerely hoped his son would grow out of his feminine ways.
It would be the best for everyone.
What did you think?
