Trigger warning: offensive term for homosexuals in the last scene.

It was several days before Buford and Ginger were alone in the apartment. Classes were just about to start, and Baljeet had had to head to campus to meet with his advisor.

Hesitantly, Buford sat next to Ginger on the couch and said, "Ginger...I wanted to thank you for what you've done. He's so much happier since the wedding. When you were gone, it was like part of him was missing...it's back now."

She smiled at him unexpectedly. "Thank you, too, Buford. It's just...I feel like I'm overusing the word 'incredible' recently, but it just fits so well."

Buford nodded. "So how long until you get rid of me?"

Ginger looked sincerely stricken. "I...I'm sorry, did you think I was going to? I hurt him badly enough forcing him to decide once. I can't do it again. He'd never forgive me. I'd never forgive me. He loves you, Buford."

"You're sure? I mean...if you really want me to go, I know you've got the leverage now."

"Buford, I realized before I agreed to marry him that it meant you'd be around forever. I'm okay with that. You said it was like part of him was missing after I broke up with him - it'd be the same if you were gone. It doesn't make the nights any less lonely, but it means I knew they were coming, and I know they're necessary."

Buford nodded acknowledgement. "Yeah, I get that. If I'd realized just how loud you were..."

Ginger turned bright red. "Oh my God. I never realized. I'm so sorry. I'll try to tone it down a bit."

"Nah, I'm used to it now." He waggled his eyebrows at her. "Kinda hot, actually."

Ginger laughed. "Are we pushing him too hard there? I mean, we're getting nights off, but he's going at it every night with one of us. I suppose it's not quite the same, then, since he's usually on top with me, and..."

Buford's brow furrowed. "...and what? He's usually on top with me, too."

Ginger covered her hand with her mouth. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to pry. But I always figured..."

"Yeah, most people do. I let 'em think what they want." His eyes looked off into the distance as he remembered. "The first time, I was so worried about hurting him, that he suggested we try him on top instead. And...it just worked."

She looked down at the floor. "I suppose there's not a lot of point in keeping secrets between us at this point, is there?"

"Nope. And if talking helps us do a better job takin' care of our nerd, then we need to talk."

Ginger got home to find Buford cooking dinner as Baljeet prepared for the next day's classes. She went over to give Baljeet a hug and a kiss, then dropped her backpack off in her room. Wandering back out, she saw Buford with his back to her, and paused to enjoy watching the way he moved. Hockey had given the big man a level of grace he'd never had when he was younger. She could almost...almost...see what Baljeet saw in him physically.

Shaking her head, she asked him, "Anything I can do to help?"

He smiled at her, and gestured toward the oven. "Sure. Can you take a look at the cornbread? It should be ready in a couple minutes."

Buford hung back behind Baljeet and Ginger as the three of them ran along the streets of Danville. Daily running for a month had gotten his and Baljeet's endurance up, and they were mostly able to keep pace with Ginger now. However, the sidewalks weren't quite wide enough for them to run three abreast, so he ran behind them. He claimed it was because they tended to run faster, and so they gave him a better pace to keep up with.

At least part of it, however, was that this way he got to ogle Baljeet's ass in his running shorts as well as Ginger's in her yoga pants as they ran along.

Baljeet had pinned Ginger's wrists to the bed as he rode her, her legs wrapped around him as she bucked against him.

She flailed her head side to side, moaning and whimpering as her climax grew ever closer, trying to free her wrists - not because she really wanted to, but because that was the game they were playing right now. Being with Buford had helped make him more assertive, and one of the ways that showed was in bed. (Being more assertive had gone on the list.)

"You're getting stronger," he whispered. "Keep working out, and I might need to tie you down instead."

The thought sent her over the edge, wailing out her orgasm as she quivered underneath him.

He was getting close as she caught her breath. With a mischievous smile, she whispered, "Maybe I need to tie you down instead."

His eyes got wide, and then snapped closed as his own climax overwhelmed him.

"Are you sure it's okay for me to go to this?" Ginger asked.

"Absolutely," Buford said through the bedroom door. "Baljeet had a great time last year. It's the traditional party after the first practice of hockey season. Everybody brings their girlfriends. Or boyfriend, in my case."

"How'd they cope with that?"

Baljeet said, "Quite well, actually. Only one of the other players gave him any trouble about it at all."

Ginger paused from putting in her earrings. "How'd that end up?"

Through the door, Buford said, "He became one of my best friends on the team after the fight."

Ginger opened the door. "...fight?"

Buford shrugged. "Jack made some comments about whether I was a real man. So I decked him. When he got back up, he decided I'd proved my point."

"Bufe! Glad you could make it!" the tall, muscular blond man at the door said, slapping Buford on the back.

"Jack! Wouldn't'a missed it. You know Baljeet..."

"Not likely to forget him," Jack said, holding his jaw in memory.

"And this is Baljeet's wife Ginger."

Jack paused, blinking, while his brain caught up. "Um?" He looked Ginger up and down, his eyes wide. Buford rather agreed with Jack's assessment; the red dress Ginger was wearing showed her off quite well, and was even in the appropriate team color.

"Long story, and I'm too sober to explain it," Buford said.

Ginger had expected to feel out of place, but the players and their girlfriends were some of the most welcoming folks she'd met. The mood was festive and the partying hard, with beer flowing freely in a back room, but no pressure on her to drink if she didn't want to. She had gotten a soda and was talking to Cyndi, the goalie's girlfriend, when one of the new freshman made a loud comment about 'that faggot on the team'.

The room hushed, and the freshman looked around. "What? I'm sure we're all thinking it. I heard there's some guy on the team who's screwing another guy. Do we need someone like that on the team?"

Ginger held her breath, looking at Buford worriedly.

Buford sighed, handed his beer to Baljeet, and said, "Look...what's your name, kid?"

"Ted. What's it to you, faggot?"

"Did anyone tell you what happened to the last guy on the team to call me that?"

Ted looked confused, like things weren't going according to the script he'd planned. "...no?"

Jack, standing behind Ted, clapped him on the shoulder. "He knocked me flat on my ass. Which is what he's going to do to you if you don't apologize right fucking now."

Buford smiled, and cracked his knuckles.

Jack continued, "See, here's the thing. We know Buford. We know his boyfriend, too. And we're getting to know the boyfriend's wife. She's right there. Seriously hot, too."

Ginger smiled wanly.

"What I know is that Buford's a damn good defenseman, and a damn good friend, and I don't give a damn who he's screwing. And you are a newbie that I don't know yet, and you're about thirty seconds from getting your ass kicked by your teammates."

Ted gulped. "Um. Sorry? You're right, it's none of my business?"

Ginger exhaled.

"Well said, newbie," Jack said. "Now, let's go get you a drink and introduce you to the rest of the team."