Between a Rock and a Hard Place

by Bohannon, Hipsy

  He couldn't wrap his head around having a child somewhere in the world and not wanting to be part of their life. Especially one like T.J., he was freaking awesome! The boy was funny and quick, smart, and just really cool to be around. He never really acted like a kid, not one of those annoying little snot slingers anyway. He had kind of always seemed like a grown man, even back when he was just a little shit of two. That’s when Cole got to meet him for the first time. Since then, T.J. had been his sidekick or if you asked Penny, his partner in crime.

  Cole never tired of hanging out with the precocious little dude. The kid was up for anything and rarely whined about the stupid shit, most kids his age did. If he complained, he had a valid reason behind it, and nine times out of ten, Cole found that he agreed with his reasonings. His I.Q was off the charts, when, he chose to put it to good use. He was insightful, having a solid grasp on things far beyond his eleven years.

  The poor kid, kind of had to grow up fast with the life he was dealt. Penny busted her ass but she was just one person and there were only so many hours in the day. T.J. had to learn fast how to do things for himself. He had way more responsibilities than other kids his age. At four he had started doing his own laundry, not liking the way his mother always ended up dying his favorite superhero shirts pink in the wash. At six he could cook a full course meal, which was not only edible but delicious as well, unlike his mother’s cooking. By the time he was eight, he had scared off any babysitter willing to work for the low amount Penny could pay, leaving him on his own for the hours that his mother was away. Not that he minded being alone. T.J. was completely capable of taking care of himself and most days, he even managed to take care of his mother better than she did herself.

  Penny had always treated him more like the man of the house than the child that he actually was. He deserved respect for being level headed and trustworthy. He was a good kid through and through. Sure, he got in trouble here and there but it was never for the same reasons other kids did. It was usually for speaking his mind out of turn or joining a cause all his own, fighting battles

  with uneducated teachers or mean spirited bullies. He never backed down from telling someone they were wrong or in challenging them when what they said didn't add up. He had the ability to call bullshit from a mile away and was the best judge of character Cole had ever seen.

  "I see where you're coming from little man, I do, but do you have any idea how much money I had to spend to make that go away?" Cole questioned, leaning in and dropping his voice down, just in case, Penny was awake to hear them in the other room.

  "Yeah, sorry about that. I saw the new gym stuff you donated. The plaque they put up in your honor was legit. The ‘VIVA AMERICA’ inscription, was a nice touch." T.J. nodded, smirking over his cereal.

  “I thought so too. Hopefully, that cross-eyed creeper they call a gym teacher will actually put some of that shit to good use. It’s all top of the line, no cheap shit for my little dude's fitness needs.” Cole said with a solid nod.

  “I hate that guy, he’s always asking about mom as if he stands a chance. Not to mention, he didn’t even know how to use the equipment. I had to show him, how sad is that?”

  “Ya, well, next time he brings up your mom, just neck punch him for me, I’ll have your back when the school calls me, no worries. I got you.”

  “Just like you always do.” T.J. said with a sure look on his features.

  "Yeah, well, you're gonna pay me back for this last little stunt. I started a new program at the gym. I want you to help me out with it, maybe teach a few classes. It's for kids, five to ten. Do you think you can handle that?" Cole questioned, speaking to T.J. as if he was a coworker and not the scruffy haired little boy that he really was.

  This was nothing new for T.J, he’d been hanging out at the gym since the first day it opened. Cole had been training him in jujitsu since before he could even get himself dressed or speak in full sentences. The kid was already a badass in his own right. In a few more years he would be a black belt, just like his hero. Cole.

  Black belts and business knowledge aside, their time spent at the gym was just another excuse for them to hang out together. Which was all they ever wanted to do, anyway. Ever since the first day they had met, they had been glued together at the hip. It used to drive Penny nuts when T.J. was little, because she would come home to find whatever, half ass baby sitter she had at the time, nowhere to be seen. In her place would be Cole, usually with toys she didn’t approve of and junk food she didn’t want T.J. eating. Cole couldn’t help himself, though. He didn’t like the people she tended to put in charge of T.J.. Sure, they were capable, but T.J. always ran a bit hyper, not in a bad way, just in the way that he needed to be kept occupied and not screamed at. The kid didn’t need time outs, he needed someone who had the same kind of endless energy that he did and a willingness to explore the world with him. Cole, was exactly that kind of guy. They could keep up with each other, it was as simple as that.

  As a child, Cole had never really gotten to do all the fun shit other kids his age were doing. Hanging out with T.J. over the years had given him a chance to relive the childhood that he had been so wrongfully denied. Over the last nine years, whenever he wasn’t working, he could be found hanging out with T.J.. He had even traded in his Vet for a Range Rover back when T.J. was still just a little shit, just because his clunky booster seat wouldn’t fit in the back of the little red sports car. He didn’t mind one bit, he rocked the hell out of the Rover, even sported a ‘baby on board, so slow the fuck down’ sticker in the back window. That was years ago, though. As soon as T.J. out grew the booster seat faze, Cole and he had went right on down to the dealership and picked up the sexiest looking car on the lot, a Viper, T.J.’s choice, of course.

  The precocious boy, needed a man in his life. It just so happened that Cole loved to be needed. Of course, Penny would never admit that she needed help raising her son but she did just the same. So, it worked out for everyone involved.

  Just then, T.J.’s eyes locked with Cole’s as they heard the bedroom door opening, followed by the sound of Penny's bare feet making their way down the hallway. Quickly T.J. snagged his phone off the table. Stuffing it into his hoodie pocket with all the skill of a magician or just a kid who didn’t want his only lifeline taken away from him.

  "Don’t stop hatching your evil plots on my account, just keep pretending like I'm not even here." Penny offered with a heavy yawn as she made her way into the kitchen.

  "I'm sorry my love, did we wake you?” Cole questioned, feigning a guilty look.

  “Yes, actually you did.”

  “Damn us all to hell; I know how much you hate that. T.J., did I ever tell you how I got this scar right here?” Cole inquired, leaning over to point out a thin white line just above his left brow.

  "Don’t you dare!" Penny warned, sending Cole a pointed look before leaning over the kitchen sink to splash some cold water on her face.

  "Fine, but I'll just say this, you should never try to wake your mother up after a tequila shooter night." Cole smirked, putting his hands up in surrender.

  "Duh, everyone knows that," T.J. scoffed with a knowing look that made Cole smirk.

  "I hate you both." Penny announced, using her bathrobe to pat her face dry.

  "Oh, come on now, you love us and you know it." Cole reminded, grabbing the coffee he had brought her off the table before pushing himself out of his chair.

  He made his way over to Penny, wearing a smirk of a smile as he took in her early morning state. She looked an absolute mess. Her hair was wild and her makeup, well what was left of it from the night before, was smudged, making her look a bit like a raccoon. Her eyes still looked ten shades of worn out and her shoulders sat slumped on her small frame. She never was a morning person and to anyone else, she probably looked like a zombie, but to Cole, that wasn’t the case. He couldn't help himself but to smile as he looked down at her crabby frown. She looked absolutely perfect to him. She looked one-hundred p
ercent real, no fake in her at all. Just a tired mom, who never got enough sleep, and could use about, six months’ vacation on a beach somewhere. He wished he could make that happen, well, he could, but she would never go for it. So here she stood, looking ten shades of beat down by life, yet, somehow still the prettiest thing he had ever laid eyes on.

  Cole never did like waking up next to a perfect ten, it freaked him out. Not that that ever stopped him from bedding them. But for real, who in the hell wakes up, looking all perfect and shit, no one, that's who. So when it did happen, he knew that the ‘fake Barbie wannabe, that he had fucked six ways from Sunday the night before, had woken up an hour before him, made herself up, and then crawled back into bed, thinking he would be none the wiser. Anyone who would go through that much damn trouble to impress a one night stand obviously had some major issues, and he was already full up with issues of his own. He simply didn’t have time for anyone else’s. He wanted nothing to do with a high maintenance woman suffering from a model complex. He would take Penny’s disheveled looking ass, any morning of the week over those painted to perfection, life-sized dolls, with the brains to match, that he tended to run with.

  "You're half right, I don’t hate, him." Penny corrected, jerking her head toward T.J. before snatching the cup of coffee out of Coles' hand and throwing him a cute little wink.

  "Well, at least you're loved little man; guess ‘Ole Cole is out in the cold, yet again."

  "It's okay, I got love for ya, dude." T.J. offered before taking a large sip of his cappuccino, leaving a foam mustache on his top lip.

  "At least someone does," Cole sighed, nudging Penny's shoulder with his. It earned him a sleepy growl as she nudged him back.

  "Hey, is that a cappuccino? How many times have I told…," Penny started, catching site of her son's foam covered upper lip.

  “Hey, um…, aren’t we late…, for something?!" T.J. cut her off, hopping out of his seat, quick, fast, and in a hurry before his mothers lecture could get any real traction.

  "Yeah, we definitely are buddy, ole pal! We better head out like… now!” Cole announced as both he and T.J. broke for the door at the exact same time.

  "Hey, what about these dishes?!" Penny reminded, eyeing the table.

  "No time mom, gotta run. Love ya!"

  “Sorry, no time, my love; we’ll catch ya later, sexy!” Cole tossed the words over his shoulder, just before slamming the door shut.

  And, just like that, the boys were off on yet another one of their fun filled adventures, leaving Penny behind to pick up the mess, just like always.

  Chapter 4

  T hings appeared, to finally be looking up for Penny. Her rent had been lowered, to half the amount that it had been before. She wasn’t really sure why, though. Her weirdo landlord had just knocked on her door out of the blue to inform her that the rent was slashed, then walked off mumbling something about ‘tell captain save a hoe, that he can suck a dick’, whatever the hell that was supposed to mean. He was an odd fellow, so she didn’t bother thinking on it too much. Honestly, she didn’t care what the reason, she was just happy that she might actually be able to keep up with the rent from here on out. And, to her surprise, her slumlord had even knocked off what she had owed him from before

  She planned to use the extra cash to stock up on groceries but Cole had beat her to it. She had come home from work only to find that her kitchen cabinets and fridge were now overflowing with food. Cole, of course, laid low for the next few days, no doubt knowing that she would have tried to make him take it all back, not that he would have; he never did.

  Cole being back in town meant that T.J. was staying pretty busy, which meant that he was somewhat, staying out of trouble. That in itself was a huge load off Penny’s shoulders. All in all, she had been feeling pretty good about the way everything seemed to be progressing in the right direction, as of late. Well, sorta, anyway. At this very moment, she wasn’t so sure she liked the direction anything was headed. Currently, she was on the verge of letting out an annoyed breath, yep there it was. It was followed by a little growl of annoyance as she eyed her reflection in the full-length mirror that sat in the corner of her bedroom. Her springy, lumpy mattress sat piled high with an on odd, very ugly, collection of apparel.

  "Damn it, why do all my clothes have to be so freaking awesome?!” She questioned her reflection with a narrow eye. When she got no response, she let out another, annoyed sigh.

  She had pretty much decided that she had found the ugliest dress she had in her wardrobe. It was an old bridesmaid dress that she had been forced into wearing when one of the girls at the club had gotten married last year. A strip club was an odd venue to say your vows in but then again, who was she to judge? After all, it was where the happy couple had first met.

  The dress hung off her shoulders, showing no real curves to speak of and the puke green color left a bad taste in her mouth. Almost as much as the cat sweater vest she was currently rocking over it. She had bought it as a joke at a thrift store a few years ago and often threatened T.J. with wearing it to pick him up at school, if he couldn’t figure out how to keep himself out of trouble, that is. So far, it hadn’t happened but maybe that was because of the threat of the hideous little vest.

  She had her long hair pulled up in a tight little bun on top of her head and had chosen to skip out on any kind of makeup. Leaning into the mirror, she made ugly faces until she laughed out at her own silly behavior.

  She couldn’t believe that she was finding herself in this predicament. Yet again, trying to look as ugly as she possibly could. She had agreed to be set up on a blind date by her boss, Ace. Stupid her had dared to mention she was in need of a new mattress. The old one killed her back and had her cramping up in the middle of the club during performances. Her job was very physical; she needed to be able to get a good night’s sleep just to function.

  It was after that, that Ace had brought up his old buddy Sal, the mattress salesman. Penny had always hated blind dates, hated ones with car salesman, dentists, accountants, and especially…, mattress salesmen. She had agreed, thinking she might be able to flirt her way through a couple of dates, if it meant getting a better deal on a mattress. How sad but true, it was. That’s where she had fallen to in life, winking at cheesy ass mattress salesman, just to save herself a few bucks on a bed. Afterwards, she assumed, she would cut the line and leave him dead in the water. It seemed like a simple enough plan. Other women did it all the time, used men to get what they wanted, what they needed. But, for some reason, she just couldn't. It was just too shady, too slimy, and golddigger-ish… well, maybe not gold digger status. She was pretty sure those types of women went after bigger scores than acquiring a mattress with no jagged springs popping out. Either way, she just couldn’t bring herself to use someone like that.

  That still left her feeling bad though, because she had agreed to go on the date, not to mention the guy was a good friend of her boss’. She couldn’t really back out now, that would be even ruder than using him to get a discounted sleeper. That being said, it seemed as if this was all a very slippery slope. One terrible date would no doubt, turn into two, or three, and with her inability to be a grown woman and own up to the fact that she just wasn’t at all interested, she would probably end up married to him, living in his mother's basement, and eating nothing but TV dinners, while rocking a polyester moo-moo.

  Okay, so, she was being a little judgmental. Truthfully, she had no way of knowing where mattress salesman lived, what they ate, or what material their clothes were made out of. Stupid Cole had put all of that stereotypical shit into her head, the dick! All she did know, was that she didn’t want to end up married to someone she had only gone out with because she had felt obligated to. What a terrible story that would be to tell the grandkids. That left her with only one real option; bomb the hell out of the date.

  Really, it was the nicest way possible that she could think of to blow him off. This way, Sal could believe in his mind that he was the one who
had ditched her. Men liked that type of shit. Plus, if the truth was to be told, tonight wasn’t just all about sparing Sal’s ego, she really did want to go to that photography exhibit and Sal was the one with the tickets. When she had made the plans with him over the phone, she had mentioned them maybe going to the exhibit, hoping he would hate the idea and just call it all off, but she had had no luck there.

  She was left to go through with the doomed date. Hoping that if she looked and acted like a fool, she could scare Sal away, and manage to still enjoy some culture in the process.

  Hearing a knock, she reached over, quickly turning her radio down.

  "T.J., is that him?" She called out from down the hall.

  "Nope, it’s not a douchebag, mom! It's just Cole!"

  Instantly, her cheeks turned red with annoyance at the same time she went to stomping down the hall, heading straight for Cole. As she turned the corner into the kitchen her fists went to her hips, in a very ‘Mom’s pissed off’, kind of way.

  Cole blinked a few times before glancing at T.J., who was giving his mother's appearance the same odd look that he was. Turning his attention back to Penny, he chewed his lip before he simply couldn’t take it anymore.

  "Penny Lane, my love, what the hell, are you wearing?" Cole questioned with an outraged laugh. He looked her up and down, letting the gym bag he was carrying on his shoulder, gently slide down his arm until it thumped onto the floor. "T.J., why is your mother dressed like a homeless, cat lady?" Cole questioned, his eyes darting from her to T.J. who was sitting on the couch, book in hand.

  "It’s her date night, with the bed peddler."

  "Oh shit, is that tonight? I completely forgot."