BPOV

It seemed that we had successfully hurdled the Carlisle obstacle – at least for the moment – and there was just one more subject on my agenda. I needed to get to the bottom of the animosity between my dad and my grandmother.

I knew it had something to do with the death of my Uncle Tom five years ago, but I wasn't sure exactly what happened because Dad never talks about it. He would only ever say that he didn't have to explain himself or his actions to his daughter, and leave it at that.

With that in mind, I went to my grandma to get the full story. I told Dad I was headed to Seattle with Alice for more wedding preparations, but instead she and I made our way to Olympia. Grandma met us at her front door and immediately pulled me into a crushing embrace.

"Oh, I can't believe my little Bella is getting married!" She cried as she squeezed me.

"OK…can't breathe, Grandma…" I gasped.

She released me and turned to hug Alice, "How are you, little lady?"

"I've been good, Grandma Swan," Alice replied.

We all sat at Grandma's table and there was already plates of cookies and brownies set out for us. I took one of Grandma Swan's famous, giant peanut butter cookies and began to munch on it while she poured me and Alice some drinks.

It didn't take Grandma very long to launch into questioning.

"So, as much as an old woman would love to believe her precious, one-and-only granddaughter paid her a visit just because she felt like it, I know better," she began, as she took one of my hands into both of hers, "What brings you here today?"

I sighed and took another bite of cookie before continuing, "I was hoping you could let me in on something I've been wondering about for years – something my dad won't ever talk about."

"Tom," Grandma said with a sigh. "I guess he's been bottling that up for the past few years – that's what Swan men tend to do."

"What happened, Grandma? I mean, Dad won't even tell me how Uncle Tom died."

Grandma sighed again and took a hold of my free hand, "It had been a long time coming, dear. Your Uncle Tom died of pneumonia, but he had been sick for many, many years."

"I don't understand," I replied. "Pneumonia doesn't take years to kill; usually it only lasts a few months. And, why wouldn't Dad tell me something like that?"

"It was how he got the pneumonia, baby. His immune system had completely deteriorated because…" she hesitated.

"Why?"

"He had HIV, Bella. I found out about a year after he was diagnosed, and that's when he told me he was gay."

I felt a cold chill run over my body – did this mean what I thought it meant? Did my dad not tell me about my Uncle Tom because he was embarrassed or ashamed? I hated to think my dad was a homophobe – especially where his own brother was concerned.

Grandma seemed to sense my worry, "I think what got to your father, more than anything, was the fact that we kept this from him. Your Uncle begged me not to tell anyone, not even Charlie, about his disease and how he got it. But, when Tom finally lost his fight, I had to tell your father the truth, and he's resented me for it ever since.

"He loved your uncle dearly, Bella, regardless of the choices Tom made in life."

I felt a tear fall down my cheek as I let this information sink in. Grandma leaned over and kissed me gently – Alice put an arm around me and pulled me close to her shoulder. Once the shock wore off, I wiped the moisture from my cheeks and looked back and forth between Grandma and Alice.

"Well, Dad's just going to have to get over his anger – I want you at my wedding, Gran, and I'm not going to put up with his stubbornness over it."

"Bella, I don't want you getting into a fight with Charlie over me," she replied.

"And I want you to be right there in the front row when I get married. I'm not negotiating on this, Gran; it's my wedding so it's my way or the highway."

Grandma smirked and rested her forehead against mine, "I guess it's not just the Swan men who are stubborn, is it?"

"Nope," I replied as I put my arms around her neck.

Grandma and I made a plan for her to visit during my Spring Break in a couple of weeks. She would come and we would both sit Dad down for a talk.

Alice and I made our way back to Forks, but stopped at a bridal shop to get some things, just to throw Dad off our scent. I found the perfect bouquet – a bundle of white and purple lilies with a pretty garland that wrapped around the flowers and draped over the side.

When I got home, I nearly drove Dad crazy showing him photos of the flowers and what Alice and I were planning. I was afraid I had been a bit too overzealous, but Dad didn't seem to notice. I made him some fried chicken for dinner – another one of his favorites. I was going to try my hardest to be extra sweet to Dad leading up to our talk over Spring Break.

I just hope he doesn't throw Grandma out of our house on the spot.

EPOV

The playoffs

Forks had made it to the semi-finals of the Washington Class 1A state basketball tournament for the first time in about ten years. We were facing Bush High School in Seattle, and the whole team was running on pretty high emotions. Since they were the higher seed, we had to drive out to play them, and would be staying in a hotel room overnight.

And, of course, the cheerleaders would be accompanying us, which meant I got to snuggle in the back of the bus with Bella the whole way there. She brought a cute, fuzzy, pink blanket along for the ride, and I took it and wrapped it around us as we sat in the very back seat.

"Are you comfortable enough?" I asked her as she leaned up against my chest.

"How could I not be when I cuddling with you?" She asked as she kissed the tip of my nose playfully.

Mike Newton began making retching noises from the seat in front of us, to which I promptly responded with a kick to the back of his chair. "Shove it, Newton."

Alice and Jasper both gave a snicker from across the aisle from us. They, too, were wrapped up together in a big, fuzzy blanket. I wondered if Alice and Bella decided to get matching blankets specifically for this trip.

After about an hour of driving, Bella dozed off as she tightened her arms across my chest. I kissed the top of her head and looked up to see who else was still awake with me – Jasper and Alice were snuggled close and seemed to be napping, Emmett and Rosalie were in front of them and watching a movie on Emmett's video iPod; Jacob and Jessica were closer to the front of the bus and talking quietly while Lauren sulked in the seat across the aisle from them.

James was sitting right behind the driver. He had his headphones on over the top of his black stocking cap. We haven't spoken to each other since the incident at my house, and I was a little afraid he would begin taking it out on me on the court. He had a tendency to be bitter, and he could unleash that bitterness on the team at an inopportune time.

And, it would be all my fault.

We got to Bush High School two hours early, giving us time to work off the stupor the ride over had left us in. We started running around the school's small gym before we practiced some of our drills.

Bush High School was just as small as our school, so we had to change and have our pre-game pep talk in their girls' locker room. Fifteen minutes before game-time, we exited the locker room and made our way to the main gym for the game. We were met by the cheerleaders who were lined up, waiting for us to emerge.

As the announcer began introductions, I turned to the crowd behind us, and nearly fell over in shock – my dad was there.

I felt this surge of happiness course through me as I took the court and played with a fluid effortlessness that I didn't realize I had in me. And, thankfully, James was a team player all night. By half-time, we were up, 52-20.

We went on to win the game by a landslide, and the whole team was bombarded by the crowd as everyone rushed the court. We were going to the championship game for the first time in school history – I was on cloud nine.

The only thing that could make this night better was if mine and Jasper's plan to sneak Bella into our room and Jasper into the girls' doesn't fall apart. We had been talking about it at school earlier, and let the girls in on it before we got on the bus. Jasper would wait until the coaches went to bed, and then sneak into Bella and Alice's room. He would make sure Bella got back to me before turning in for the night, though – I made sure of that.

We got to the hotel and, much to my surprise, my parents were in the lobby. My dad said he was getting the honeymoon suit for him and my mom. As much as I didn't want to think about what they would be doing in said room, I was happy to see them getting romantic again.

After my parents went up to their room, our coach gave us our room keys, "Cullen and Whitlock – room 405."

Jasper grabbed the card and we both loitered around to hear what room Bella and Alice would be staying in. The coach handed them the key to room 417, and we all piled into the elevator. Jasper and I said our goodnights and headed to our room so that other members of the team saw us and assumed we were turning in for the night.

I flipped on the TV as I fell onto one of the twin beds. I watched a little bit of The Daily Show before I noticed how small the bed was. Even though Bella is a tiny girl and wouldn't need much room, my feet hung over the edge of the bed. I stood up and went to see if the dresser between the beds would move – to my delight, not only did it move, but it was really very light.

After I moved the dresser, I pushed the two beds together just as Jasper was coming out of the bathroom.

"Wow, you are putting a lot of effort into this," he quipped.

I smirked at him as I pulled the sheets off of the beds, "You're just jealous that you didn't think of this first."

"True," he replied. "Well, it's 10 p.m., and our coaches are probably asleep, so I'm off to engage in covert activities."

"Uh-huh…just be sure Bella gets back here safe, alright?" I retorted as I set the blankets out across both beds.

Jasper saluted me, "Aye-aye, captain!"

He shut the door behind him and I went to my spare bag and pulled out a few candles I had packed last night. I lit them and set them around the room, making sure they were nowhere near anything flammable. I shut off the lights and the TV just as Bella knocked on the door.

I opened it and found her standing there wearing a bathrobe with her bag in one hand – my mind went wild with thoughts of what might be under that robe. She stepped into the room and dropped her bag near the door. She looked around at what I had set up and turned to me with a sly smile.

"Wow, you did put a lot of effort into this."

"Jasper told you, didn't he?" I laughed.

She nodded and moved to sit on the bed. She was wearing a pair of matching, pink slippers under her robe and she kicked them off. As she did so, her robe opened a bit, revealing her beautiful, bare legs. Before I could stop myself, I moved to kneel in front of her and took her left leg into my hands. I started at her ankle and kissed slowly towards her knee as she leaned back against the pillows I had set up.

I parted her robe further to see that all she had underneath it was a pair of panties and a bra. She untied the belt and let the soft material fall away from her. I smiled as I rose to capture her lips in a searing kiss.

"Let's just get rid of that robe, my love. I find your skin to be, by far, softer and more enticing."

She lifted herself up a bit and let me slide the robe out from under her. She lay back against the makeshift bed and gave me those big, beautiful, come-hither eyes. I pulled my sweats off in a blink of an eye and jumped onto the bed next to her. I took each of her ankles and rested them on my shoulders as I hooked my thumbs under her panties and pulled them off slowly, throwing them to the side before turning back to my destination.

I licked my lips lightly before leaning down to get a taste of her. I flicked my tongue briskly over her clit and smiled when her hips bucked up in response. I ran my index and middle fingers over her wet slit before sliding them into her entrance. She moaned and writhed at my touch, but I wanted to save her climax for when I was actually inside of her.

There is nothing in this world as exquisitely erotic as feeling my fiancée's walls clench around me as we both cum together. I let Bella take my boxers off as I reach around her and unsnapped her bra, and then we settled ourselves into the extra wide bed and I pulled the blankets over us.

I felt her lovely legs wrap themselves around me as I slowly inched myself into her. But, she wasn't having any of this slow nonsense – she pulled me deeper into her with her legs and began pumping her hips against mine at a fast, thorough pace. I grabbed her hips and caught her rhythm quickly.

Once we both came, shivering and whimpering in the afterglow of the moment, I lay down next to her and pulled her tight against my chest. All I wanted to do was lie there and keep Bella close to me all night, but I began wondering if we had been loud. What if someone in one of the next rooms heard us?

My inner inquiries were answered when I heard a knock at the door. Bella looked up at me, her brown eyes wide with worry – she was thinking the exact same thing I was. She got up and made her way into the bathroom as I put my sweatpants back on and answered the door.

Of course, it was James. He gave me the evil eye before scanning my room – no doubt hoping to find a naked Bella laying there.

"Do you mind not fucking your girlfriend while the rest of us are trying to sleep?" He spat.

"Do you mind not listening in while I'm making love to my fiancée, perv?" I retorted.

"'Making love?'" He snorted, "That's the gayest thing I've ever heard, Cullen."

"I doubt that – now go away to the room you're sharing with another guy."

He scoffed, "Please, if I were gay, I'd have a lot better taste in dudes than to lower myself for Newton."

I almost smiled at that, but I remained neutral until James walked away.

"You know," he began before I had a chance to shut the door, "I should be informing one of the coaches about your little indiscretion here. But, maybe I'll just save that blackmail for a later date."

And then he was gone – and I was left there to wonder when Hurricane James would strike next.

A short chapter, but I'm saving the whole Spring Break deal for next time.