ALLY:

I had certainly seen this attractive guy before, because I recognized his surfer blonde hair (that at first went up to his neck, but now was a sort of a sleek, male-model, and slicked back hairstyle. I liked his long hair, but I liked his short hair even better. The top was slicked back, the sides were shorter and the back went no further than the bottom of his neck), his piercing brown eyes and his sexy buff arms. He was dressed in a green sleeveless hoodie, a blue sleeveless shirt, dark wash ripped jeans and green Nike high tops.

"Hi,"

I smiled at him.

"Hey,"

he smiled back. His smile and his adorable brown puppy eyes seemed to underscore his new haircut. Which not only looked great on him, but smelled like a mixture of vanilla and a fresh summer breeze. He reached out his hand.

"I'm Austin. I'm a new tenant. My apartment's right here."

He pointed to the door that was literally right across the hall from my apartment.

"I'm Ally. I've lived here for four years."

I just giggled. I gripped his hand tightly and shook it. I decided to break the ice just a little bit.

"Did you get your hair cut recently?"

I asked him.

Austin grinned.

"Thanks for noticing! Yes, I just came home from getting my hair cut. I hadn't cut it in almost two years. Isn't that crazy?"

"Hell yeah!"

He said,

"In fact, shit, I hadn't even gotten a trim in over a year, and I decided it was time to cut it again."

I just grinned and asked him,

"Who is this miracle worker that just gave you this amazing haircut, that for the record, not only looks amazing, but smells really nice, too."

He smiled.

"Thank you, and my hairdresser is Liz at Supercuts. Supercuts works well for me because you don't need an appointment, you can just walk in, you can get a great haircut and wash for only twenty bucks, admittedly with the shampoo it costs a little bit more but it's still a great price, and with it you can get a complimentary neck and back massage and hot towel. To answer your first question, Liz suggested that I go shorter, yet fuller on the sides and in the back, and layer it on top and so I took her advice."

"It turned out great. What about the scent?"

"She put hairspray in it that she said smelled good, was gentle on the hair and kept it in place. Do you wanna see some pictures?"

"I'd love to see them."

He took out his gold iPhone 6S with a with a green case that looked like a more cartoon closeup of Mike, the green monster from Monster's Inc. He told me,

"I brought my buddy Dez along to take pictures, because he's an aspiring photographer and video director. He took the video and pictures on his phone and texted them all to me."

The first picture was a snapchat of him sitting in the stylist's chair wearing the black cape with the Supercuts logo, the white strip was around his neck and he had a white towel around his shoulders and he was smiling. The caption read,

"It's time"

And it had the emoji with the girl getting a haircut, a scissors emoji and a blue, white and red pole and a woman with light brown Kim Kardashian hair and beachy blonde streaks and in a hairdresser outfit rubbing his scalp. The second one had him laying in the washing station. The third one had him looking straight into the mirror and she had the bottom of the back between her fingers and she was cutting it with the scissors. In the fourth picture, she was trimming his hair again on the left side and she had a feather razor and a comb in her hand. In the fifth picture, she was trimming the other side with the scissors and she was using the comb as a guide.

In the sixth picture, Liz was using the feather razor and the comb in the back. In the seventh picture, she was cutting more off with the scissors. In the eighth picture, she was spraying it with hairspray. We came across a video. He laughed and told me,

"Here's a video."

The video started with Liz applying hairspray to Austin's hair and running a comb through through it while he was just sitting in the chair staring straight ahead. In the background I could faintly hear some catwalk music.

"The pomade that I'm using gives the hair that shiny look without drying it out. The hairspray gives it hold and maintains the body in the hair and is still gentle on it."

He was saying,

"I like body in my hair. Keeps it healthy. And the hairspray smells really good, Liz. What kind is it?"

"It's vanilla. And it'll wash out the next time you wash your hair."

I saw her put the can and the comb down on the counter and she asked him,

"You ready to see your hair?"

Some guy was whispering,

"One, two, three,"

Austin was saying,

"I'm ready."

She picked up a small circular plastic hand mirror. He was grinning his adorable grin and he was saying,

"Oh my god! I love it!"

Liz was saying,

"You're going to be fighting off the girls with a stick."

He smiled at her,

"It's all in you, Liz."

Liz smiled as she was applying a hot towel to Austin's neck.

"You should come in for a trim more often. And not just to keep your hair healthy, but because I like seeing you. Trust me, I say that to all my clients."

Austin chuckled.

"I should, shouldn't I?"

The boy with red hair holding Austin's phone, who I was going to guess was his friend, was saying,

"It's so fluffy and beautiful."

The video ended. I don't know why, but I had a feeling that Austin's friend Dez was gay.

"Austin, just out of curiosity, is your friend Dez gay?"

"He gets that a lot, but he is straight. He lives with his girlfriend Carrie ."

The ninth picture had all of his fallen hair on the ground with a snapchat that said,

"That was my hair."

And it had four laughing emojis. The tenth one had a before and after picture. The eleventh was yet another video. Dez was saying,

"Here's Austin after getting his hair cut. How do you feel, buddy?"

I said,

"I feel great. My hair feels so healthy."

"You're going to have girls crowding around you forever. You smell nice, too."

"Thanks, bud."

The video ended.

"Well, your new haircut makes you look totally sexy."

He smiled.

"Thanks, Ally. You're really gorgeous, too."

He picked up my hand and kissed it. That made me blush.

"Thank you. Um, listen I was on my way to Peet's, because I kind of need something sweet, you want to join?"

"Sounds great."

He followed me to the elevator.

"So tell me a little about yourself, Ally. What do you do for a living?"

I said,

"I work two jobs- one of them is that I'm an english teacher at Kinloch Park middle school and the the other is that I work at Starbucks, because my salary as a teacher is terrible."

"Hmmm, admirable. Wait, you teach at Kinloch Park Middle School?"

"Yeah, I've been teaching there for three years."

"Do you know Cadence Moon?"

Cadence Moon! I remembered her fondly. I had met her when she was in the seventh grade and I honestly couldn't help but love her to death. I smiled.

"Yes, I remember Cadence Moon fondly. I was her english teacher when she was in seventh grade. She was very sweet and just this little ball of sunshine."

"She's my little sister!"

"No kidding! If I love your sister, I know for a fact I'm going to love you. What about you, Austin? What do you do for a living?"

Austin said,

"I work as a correctional officer at the Miami-Dade County Juvenile Services Department. So I spend five days a week with eleven to eighteen year olds who are on probation for cutting school, running away, drinking, using drugs, you know."

I smiled.

"We've known each other for not even five minutes and it already seems like we have something in common. We both work with kids all day. Except I'm sure your salary is better than mine."

I giggled. He said,

"When I started at Community College, I majored in law. I just always was into the justice and law system, well mainly because my dad is a lawyer."

(AUTHOR'S NOTE: I know Austin's parents really are mattress vendors on the show, but I decided to make them have separate careers.)

"You saw inspiration in your parent for your career, too? I saw inspiration to be a teacher in my mom!"

"What does your mom teach?"

"She's a doctor in wildlife biology and also teaches undergrad students at University of Miami."

He pulled out his phone, showing me a photo of him with an older man that looked a lot like him (except he had a buzz cut), a pretty girl with dark brown big fluffy curls and Cadence was with them.

"That's me with my brother and sister a few months ago at my brother's wedding the Coral Gables Renaissance knight club. My brother Randy is on the left, that's his wife Alanna, and that's my sister Cadence, also your former student."

I giggled.

"She looks beautiful. How old is she now?"

"She's sixteen now. I'm twenty-five and Randy is twenty-eight."

We held hands as we walked to Peet's together.

"Your hands are as soft as a baby's ass."

"Thanks."

I ordered a coffee with half and half and sweeteners and a chocolate croissant and he got a grande black coffee.

I said,

"I need all the energy I can get right now."

He asked me,

"What for?"

I gave him a look of smartassery.

"I'm a teacher. I recently had my students read and write a paper on Oliver Twist and I have to grade papers on it. I teach seven classes a day, between twenty-four and thirty students. Lucky me."

He asked me,

"How many have you graded so far?"

I said,

"Six of them, so far. The first one, I had to give an F because not only did he curse in his paper and even write one of the most egregious things I've ever seen, but he also stated that he didn't read the book because he didn't care about it. I've gotta show it to you."

AUTHOR'S NOTE:

I really think Ally and her new neighbor Austin are hitting it off :). I wonder when he's going to ask her out ;). I really appreciate all the reviews, I love to hear what you guys think. Whether it be constructive criticism or the accolades y'all have been showering it with so far. Just remember, I strive to make you guys happy.