Alex's Reckless Antics

Rick couldn't stop himself from walking towards Howard, who was sitting on the coffee table, smoking a cigarette with a cold, distant expression. It all felt so surreal that Rick reached out to touch Howard's cheek, as if to confirm that he wasn't dreaming.

Feeling the warmth of Howard's skin, Rick realized it was real—this wasn't a dream. His heart filled with emotion as he looked at Howard.

Howard didn't push Rick's hand away. Instead, he exhaled smoke with a cold, indifferent gaze fixed on Rick. 

Rick felt even more surreal.

Howard glanced up and down at Rick before exhaling again and saying, "I don't mind giving you a slap to help you confirm."

Rick's mouth twitched. This was definitely Howard.

"I'm warning you—if you're messing with me, I'll get mad," Rick said, trying to lighten the mood.

"You talk too damn much," Howard replied, frowning in irritation.

Rick immediately broke out in a cold sweat and shut his mouth, too scared to say anything further. Howard really would throw him out if he got too annoying.

People always said Howard was scary. I never really believed it before, but now I'm starting to agree, Rick thought, but instead of backing off, he leaned in closer to Howard.

Howard remained silent, puffing on his cigarette, showing no signs of anger. However, the way he gripped his cigarette a little tighter indicated that he wasn't as calm as he appeared—he was just hiding it from Rick.

Suddenly, the door burst open with a loud bang as someone kicked it in.

Rick swore under his breath, his first instinct to rush in front of Howard, shielding him while frantically turning to see who it was.

It was Alex, standing in the doorway with a grin on his face. Rick felt like losing his mind. "Are you out of your damn mind?" Rick shouted.

Alex casually held the door as it rebounded and smiled at Rick. "You should be asking Howard that."

"What?" Rick looked confused, then furious. "Get out of here, will you?"

Alex calmly checked the time and then reminded Rick, "Your wife is my secretary, not your personal property." He pointed out that their work hours were fast approaching.

Rick was about to explode. Did he kick the door in just for that?

Good thing we were both dressed, or that would have been really awkward. Alex, you bastard, you're dead meat! Rick wanted to storm out and beat Alex up.

Howard, meanwhile, remained expressionless as he slowly stood up from the sofa.

Rick, feeling deflated, looked at Howard, his eyes pleading for another chance.

"Depends on your behavior," Howard said, smiling for once, his fox-like eyes behind his glasses becoming even more captivating.

Rick was filled with rage. Just when he thought he finally had his chance with Howard, Alex had to ruin it.

That son of a... Rick thought, furiously scratching his head, feeling like Alex was going to drive him insane.

But Alex, the cause of all this chaos, was grinning smugly, looking entirely too pleased with himself for having disrupted Rick's moment.

Mark, who had been standing behind Alex, couldn't believe what he had just witnessed. He hadn't thought Alex would actually kick the door down. What a bunch of lunatics—they're all nuts, he thought, rolling his eyes in exasperation.

Howard, as usual, remained composed. He walked over to Alex, stopping right in front of him without a word, just staring coldly.

Alex smiled back at him, arms crossed, not apologizing, and they locked eyes in a silent standoff that felt like lightning crackling between them.

But soon enough, Howard broke the stare, cleanly and efficiently, as if deciding Alex wasn't worth the trouble. He turned his attention to Mark, who immediately tried to distance himself from the situation.

"It wasn't my idea for him to kick the door!" Mark quickly said, trying to clear his name.

Howard didn't say anything. Instead, he leaned down, lifted Mark's chin, and kissed him on the lips before turning to shoot a challenging smirk at Alex. Adjusting his glasses, he walked out, leaving everyone stunned.

Mark was completely dumbfounded. His eyes blinked in confusion. What just happened? Did Howard really just kiss me? 

"What the hell! Why did he kiss me?" Mark exploded, frantically wiping his mouth. He definitely wasn't into being kissed by another man.

The two husbands in the room were both frozen, one shocked that his wife had been kissed by another man and the other outraged that his wife had kissed someone else. Even though it had just been a quick peck, they were both ready to lose it.

Rick was the first to break. He grabbed Mark's face, examining it closely in disbelief. "What...what does this mean? Howard likes Mark? What the hell, does he really like Mark?"

Mark, annoyed, slapped Rick's hand away. "What the hell is wrong with you?"

Rick, still agitated, said nothing. Instead, he glared at Mark's lips, his anger boiling over. He leaned in, ready to kiss Mark to reclaim his husband's kiss, but before he could, Mark kicked him hard, sending him flying. "What the hell is wrong with all of you?"

What the hell is going on? Have they all lost their minds? Mark was furious, feeling like his hair was about to stand on end from the sheer frustration.

Alex, barely holding back his own anger, kicked Rick, sending him sprawling on the floor. Then, in one swift move, he bent down to kiss Mark, as if to "cleanse" the kiss from Howard.

Mark's eyes widened as he punched and kicked Alex, but no matter how hard he tried, he couldn't push him away.

Eventually, Mark started to cry, tears streaming down his face uncontrollably. Alex finally let him go, his own anger still simmering.

"Bastard," Mark sobbed, hitting Alex with his fists, his tears falling fast and hard. He couldn't stop crying—Alex had kissed him too forcefully, and it had scared him.

"It's okay now, love. I've cleaned it off," Alex murmured, wiping Mark's tears away gently, trying to soothe him.

But Mark wasn't crying because of Howard's kiss. Howard had just brushed his lips against Mark's, not really kissing him—just enough to mess with Alex.

"Bastard! You monster!" Mark cried, overwhelmed with emotions, sobbing uncontrollably.

"I'm going to deal with Howard right now," Alex said, rolling up his sleeves, his anger boiling over. He wasn't going to let Howard get away with this.

"Deal with what? He was just messing with you, and you didn't even realize it?" Mark cried, still furious and upset.

Alex knew this, but Howard's joke had gone too far. He couldn't believe Howard had actually kissed his wife, even if it was just to get under his skin.

"I need to wash my mouth—take me to the bathroom now," Mark ordered between sobs. Even though he was crying, he was still fierce.

Alex's mouth twitched. What did that mean? That he wanted to wash off Alex's kiss too?

"Never mind! I'll do it myself," Mark snapped, wiping his tears away as he stormed off to Alex's room, furious.

"Wait for me, love," Alex called, quickly following after him.

Rick, who was still lying on the floor, groaned in pain. Mark had kicked him hard, and then Alex had kicked him again, leaving his stomach and other more sensitive areas in agony. Now he lay there, writhing in pain like a worm, his face pale.

"Alex, you bastard! We're done!" Rick shouted, his voice echoing through the empty hallway, sounding particularly pitiful.

Meanwhile, the instigator of all this, Howard, was already down in the courtyard, feeling rather pleased with himself as he got into his car and drove to the office, leaving Alex behind.

At first, he was in a great mood, but halfway through the drive, stopped at a red light, his face suddenly flushed as he remembered what he had done. What was I thinking?

Howard slumped over the steering wheel, feeling completely mortified. I can't believe I did that, he thought, wishing he could knock himself out for acting so out of character.