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“We did kind of dress just like this that one night in college.”

“Stop talking!” Uncle James yelled.

My dad laughed. “Well, I don’t think anyone got hurt...”

“Look at this apartment!”

“It homey,” Natalivanka said. “Like how I picture village my mother from.”

I had so many questions. But now didn’t seem like the right time.

Natalivanka leaned down and picked a coffee berry off one of the fallen trees. “Fruit for you?”

“No fruit for me,” Uncle James said. And then he turned all his attention on Axel. “You said you would take care of my daughter and this is the shit you pull?”

“Uncle James...” Axel started.

“I don’t want to hear it. I’m calling your father. Go home.”

Axel didn’t move.

“Now,” Uncle James seethed.

“But, Dad...” Scarlett started.

“If I hear one word out of you, you’ll be grounded until college.”

Scarlett pressed her drunken lips together.

“And of course the only person I don’t see here is Jacob,” Uncle James said. “He’s such a good boy.”

I rolled my eyes. There was like a 90% chance that Jacob was in the jungle orgy room with Girl #5 right now.

Uncle James pulled off his wet tuxedo jacket and draped it over Scarlett’s shoulders. He gave Axel a dirty look. Like he expected Axel to be the one draping a jacket over Scarlett’s shoulders. But all Axel was wearing was a pair of boxers. Did Uncle James really want him to take those off and put them on Scarlett? I didn’t think so.

“I think that’s a wrap for the night,” my dad said. “Let’s keep the monkeys between us though, okay? The cops get a little upset about loose monkeys on the city streets. So this never happened.”

“But this did happen!” Uncle James said. “They...you...” He took a deep breath. “Christmas is cancelled.”

My dad laughed. “You can’t cancel Christmas, bro.”

“I just did!”

We probably did deserve that. But...

“He just needs a bit of time to cool off,” my dad said. “Scarlett, Liam, how about you both head upstairs? I’m going to take Axel, Soph, and RJ home.”

It really looked like Scarlett and Liam wanted to come with my dad too.

“Oh, and Scar?” my dad said. “Tell Daphne to hightail it down to the car. I don’t think our after show cocktails are happening. Or...” He turned toward Uncle James.

Uncle James just glared at him.

“Yeah, tell her to split,” my dad said.

“You heard your father,” Uncle James said to me and RJ. “Get out of here before I really lose it.” He gestured toward the door.

Had he not lost it already? Yikes. I didn’t have to be asked twice. I grabbed RJ’s arm and pulled him toward the door.