Drop the Hammer

Ben woke the next morning to the sound of his phone vibrating on the nightstand beside him. He quickly rolled over and grabbed it to silence the noise. He glanced over his shoulder to check on James, and James was still sound asleep.

Ben groaned as he turned on his phone to find that he has a message from Jake. He read the message, “Mat and I's house. Now.” Ben furrowed his brow and checked the time. 8AM! What on earth did they want this early? Why were they even up? Ben sat up and texted Jake back, “Why?” He stood up and went to the bathroom. He walked back out and threw some clothes on. Ben picked up his phone and checked the new message that he had from Jake, “Get here now, or else your little secret will no longer be that.” Ben let out a deep sigh and hung his head. He texted Jake back, “I'll be there in 10 minutes.” He put his phone in his pants pocket and went into the kitchen. He grabbed an apple and headed out the door.

Ben drove to the rookie's house in total silence. He tried listening to the radio, but it was too distracting.

When Ben arrived at Matt and Jake's house, he sat in the driveway for a few minutes. He knew what the two were doing to him. He understood the concept of blackmail. What Ben didn't understand was why they were blackmailing him. Ben had never done anything to Matt or Jake. Never did anything to turn them against him. He thought Jake was his friend... one of his closest teammates. He had been wrong.

Ben took a deep breath in before he got out of his car. He walked up to their house and knocked on the door. Ben thought it was strange that Matt and Jake lived together, everyone on the team did. Most guys lived by themselves or with their wives/girlfriends. Matt and Jake enjoyed each others company, they were best friends. No one ever thought much of it. But Ben started getting suspicious. He started to think of other reasons as to why they lived together...

Ben was snapped back to reality when he heard the pair whispering and giggling behind the door before opening it. Ben took a shocked step back as he was greeted by a just-got-out-of-the-shower-just-wearing-a-towel Matt and Jake. Both of them. Dripping wet. Nothing but a towel draped across their waists. Standing right in front of Ben. Together. Ben had been to their house many times before. He knew that the place only had one bathroom, which meant only one shower. Does that mean... No. Ben shook his head. It had to be a coincidence. He smiled at the two.

“Hey guys...” He mumbled, still a bit sleepy.

Jake and Matt looked at each other and grinned. “Hey, Ben.” They said in unison. They stepped back to allow Ben to enter the house. The pair headed into the living room and Ben followed.

Mat and Jake sat down side by side on the couch and Ben went for the chair. Before he sat, he was interrupted.

“What do you think you're doing?” Jake asked.

“Uh... Sitting down?” Ben responded, confused.

“No you're not. Get to the kitchen.” Matt ordered.

“Why?” Ben asked.

“Matty and I are starved. We've worked up quite an appetite this morning. Jake said, giving Matt a sly smile. Matt blushed at returned the smile.

“Ok...” Ben said, slowly making his way to the kitchen.

“Omelets sound good.” Matt said. “Ham and cheese in mine.”

“Ham, cheese, and onions in mine.” Jake added. Ben made his way into the kitchen.

“No Jake! Onions make your breath smell bad, and you know how I don't like onions!” Ben heard Matt cry from the other room.

“You're right, sorry babe.” Jake said the Matt. “Scratch that, just ham and cheese in mine!” Jake called out to Ben.

Ben turned on the stove and got the eggs, cheese, and ham from the fridge. While he was preparing the ingredients, Ben couldn't help but to think about what he had just experience. He tried to put together the pieces of this mysterious puzzle called Matt Frattin and Jake Gardiner. First off, Jatt, - what Ben decided to call the pair – live in the same two bedroom, one bathroom house. Second, he was greeted by the pair, who were soaking wet, and wearing nothing but a towel around their waists. Third, they had “worked up an appetite” together this morning. Ben glanced at the time on the stove. It was only 8:30AM. What could they have been doing this early? Finally, Jake just called Matt “babe”. This isn't the first time that Ben heard them call each other that. Ben thought it was normal the first time he heard it. But then he started to pay attention. No one else on the team called each other babe. Just Jatt. And it wasn't say, Matt calling Joe Colborne or Ryan Hamilton babe, he only called Jake babe. Same with Jake. At the time, Ben didn't think much of it. He thought that is was something that they had for each other, a special name. Then this happened. Ben started thinking... could Matt and Jake be... gay? No, Ben thought, but he didn't agree with himself. He knew in the back of his head that that had to be the case. If it wasn't... then what was? Jatt was awfully friendly with each other...

Ben quickly finished cooking Matt and Jake breakfast. He poured them each a glass of orange juice and put their eggs on a plate. He then put the glasses and plates on a platter. Before he went to bring them out their breakfast, he checked his phone. He had 4 new messages from James. Damn. “Ben, where are you? You didn't leave me a note like always.” “Ben answer me!” “Ben what's going on? Are you ok?” “Ben?” Ben sighed, putting away his phone, ignoring James' pleas. He felt like shit for not letting James know he was gone, but he didn't have an excuse for a place to be. He quickly gathered himself and picked up the tray that had Matt and Jake's breakfast on it.

Ben walked out of the kitchen carrying the breakfast tray. He walked slowly, so he wouldn't spill the drinks. He entered the living room and saw something that he would never had expected to see.