Parallel Process Read online

  PARALLEL PROCESS

  Barbara Sheridan & Anne Cain

  ®

  www.loose-id.com

  Warning

  This e-book contains sexually explicit scenes and adult language and may be considered offensive to some readers. Loose Id® e-books are for sale to adults ONLY, as defined by the laws of the country in which you made your purchase. Please store your files wisely, where they cannot be accessed by under-aged readers.

  * * * * *

  This book contains explicit sexual content, graphic language, and situations that some readers may find objectionable.

  Parallel Process

  Barbara Sheridan & Anne Cain

  This e-book is a work of fiction. While reference might be made to actual historical events or existing locations, the names, characters, places and incidents are either the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously, and any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, business establishments, events, or locales is entirely coincidental.

  Published by

  Loose Id LLC

  1802 N Carson Street, Suite 212-2924

  Carson City NV 89701-1215

  www.loose-id.com

  Copyright © September 2007 by Barbara Sheridan & Anne Cain

  All rights reserved. This copy is intended for the purchaser of this e-book ONLY. No part of this e-book may be reproduced or shared in any form, including, but not limited to printing, photocopying, faxing, or emailing without prior written permission from Loose Id LLC.

  ISBN 978-1-59632-551-7

  Available in Adobe PDF, HTML, MobiPocket, and MS Reader

  Printed in the United States of America

  Editor: Barbara Marshall

  Cover Artist: Anne Cain

  Chapter One

  Matt rolled onto his side, slipping his arm around his lover, who was curled up beside him on the bed. He slid his arm down past Haku’s waist and rubbed his palm over the man’s erection, groaning as if he felt the touch on his own dick. Without opening his eyes, he kissed the nape of Haku’s neck and snuggled close.

  “Mmm, you smell good,” Matt murmured. Like…coffee.

  “Oh, shit!” His eyelids flew open, and he propped himself up on one elbow. The lover from his dream was gone, replaced with a smushed pillow and rumpled blankets. Sunlight poured in from the open window over his bed, along with the sound of clattering dishes and whistling from the espresso machines in the shop downstairs. He’d overslept, again.

  Matt bolted up to look out the window. In the park across the way, there were still a few joggers and kids on bikes. His car was one of about seven still parked next to the sidewalk on the narrow little one-way street below. No sign of that bastard traffic cop either. “Yes,” he hissed.

  Matt jumped out of bed and tossed on the first shirt and pair of pants he found on the floor in front of his closet. Dashing through the apartment, he stubbed his toe on a box of borrowed tapes from the library and tumbled headfirst onto the rattan sofa. He saw the box of pizza from last night on the coffee table and quickly checked for a slice.

  “Damn.” Matt tossed the empty box back on the table and hopped over the back of the sofa. Grabbing his backpack from the floor next to the TV, he held the bag to the side of his face to block the view of the eat-in kitchen on his way to the door. As long as he couldn’t see the mess of dishes and assorted canned groceries littering the counter space, it didn’t exist. Which was a pretty funny philosophy to practice, considering his thesis centered on the non-corporeal manifestations of paraphysical beings. In other words, the shit people couldn’t see that existed anyway.

  What the hell. He just didn’t want to sort through the mess in the kitchen. Haku could call him on the inconsistencies of his logic after the classes they were supposed to TA this morning.

  Matt scrambled out of the apartment and thundered down the rickety stairs. He burst into the coffeehouse through the storage room, almost bowling over the woman who was making a run to turn off the giant brass monster of a cappuccino maker on the back wall.

  “You’re not supposed to come out through the shop, Matt,” she snapped.

  “Morning, Cyn!” He ducked past her, skidding to a stop in front of the bakery case. “Ooh, you guys got those cranberry orange scone things today.” He helped himself to two and grabbed one of the paper sacks next to the cash register.

  Cyndi returned to the counter with two venti-sized to-go cups of espresso. “Excuse me, this place is not self-serve.” She set the cups down and blocked him in behind the counter.

  Matt hopped over the counter and grabbed both cups of coffee. “Thanks!”

  “Hey, those are for customers!” Cyn yelled after him.

  “I gotta run before it’s too late,” Matt called over his shoulder, dodging past a couple of scowling customers. “I’ve only got a couple of minutes left for the parking.” He dashed out onto the sidewalk, let an ancient Cadillac rattle past him, and then sprinted across the street. Parking was free overnight on this one-way section of the block, but from eight a.m. to nine p.m., it cost a buck twenty-five in quarters each hour, which meant he had less than five minutes to get his ass out of there.

  At the end of the street, Matt caught sight of Officer Tight-Ass writing out a docket for some poor guy’s Vespa parked in one of the metered stalls. The cop ‑‑ if he’d ever really attended an academy, that is ‑‑ could give Barney Fife a run for his money as this century’s most anal-retentive member of the police department. Matt had about five parking violations piled up this month alone.

  “Not today, Barney.” Matt snickered. He jumped inside the car, dumped his stuff in the empty passenger seat, and revved the engine. The car started to roll forward, then lurched to a stop with a loud, grinding sound.

  “What the hell?” Matt opened the door and leaned out to see if he’d hit the bumper of the pick-up in front of him or something. “Aw, shit.” A black and yellow boot was bolted to the front wheel, a folded yellow piece of paper tucked into the crossbars.

  Matt cut the engine and stepped out to check the docket. “Seventy-five bucks,” he groaned. “Jesus.” He shouted down the street, “I’m a student, you know ‑‑ I’m living on a fixed income!”

  Barney just kept on writing another ticket.

  Matt trudged back to the coffee shop and pushed open the door. “Cyn, can I borrow seventy-five dollars?” A wadded up napkin smacked him on the forehead. “Thanks anyway,” he sighed.

  * * * * *

  Using his shoulder to push in the door, Matt ducked inside the lecture hall. Several tiered rows of seats were arranged in a semicircle facing the front of the room like a small auditorium, where a solid aluminum desk was shoved to the side of a six-foot-wide projector screen.

  “You’re late.” Haku leaned back in his chair, the rusty bolts squeaking loudly in the quiet room. Arching an eyebrow at Matt, he pushed up his reading glasses to rest on top of his head, the black wire rims disappearing against his short, dark brown hair. A corner of his mouth tugged upward in that skeptical half smirk he always wore before trashing one of Matt’s excuses no matter how good it was.

  “I know, I know.” Matt set their cups of coffee on the desk and dumped his backpack on the floor. He looked around the room, ignoring Haku’s annoyed expression. “We were supposed to hold a review session before the exam today, right? Where is everyone?”

  “Nobody showed up.” Haku gave a defeated little sigh and straightened with another creak from his chair.

  “Aha!” Matt turned back around. “So I didn’t miss anything.”

  Haku picked up one of the cups and popped off the plastic cover. “No,” he mumbled, sniffing at the coffee. “You could’ve overslept some more.”<
br />
  “FYI, I didn’t oversleep.” Matt coughed into his hand. “Much.”

  “Right.” Haku rolled his eyes. “What happened? They finally tow your car?”

  Matt perched on the edge of the desk. “The guy has it in for me, I swear. It’s personal.”

  “Oh, great.” Haku rested his chin on the palm of his hand as he sipped at the drink and fixed Matt with a dry stare. “So now we don’t have a car for the weekend.”

  “Don’t give me that look; it’s not my fault.”

  “Right.” Haku rolled his eyes again.

  Matt held out his hand. “Give me that coffee.”

  “What? No.” Haku scowled and shrank away from Matt.

  “I took the bus, walked a couple blocks, and cut through the construction site on the west end of campus ‑‑ all the while carrying that cup for you.” Matt held his hand out again. “If you can’t show some support for me, I want it back.”

  Haku looked into the cup, as if more than a little suspicious of what else might be floating in the drink after the trek. But the coffee seemed more than worth it, even though it was now lukewarm. Haku held the cup protectively against his chest. “You already gave it to me, so it’s mine. No take-backs.”

  “Uh-huh, I thought so.” Matt smirked.

  “Besides, I need it,” Haku grumbled. “I didn’t sleep at all last night.” He took a long gulp before setting the cup on the desk and rubbing his eyes.

  “Foster’s giving you trouble?” Matt folded his arms across his chest.

  Haku grimaced at the mention of his roommate’s name. “He spent the whole night trying to chug out a fifteen-page paper due today. The whole damn night, hammering away at the keyboard and grunting along with whatever music he was listening to.”

  “The fun of sharing a dorm room.” Matt chuckled. “Dude, the guy was probably chatting with his girlfriend the whole time. They were having cybersex, and you got to listen to their online orgasms.”

  Haku groaned and banged his head on the desktop. “Just shut up, Matthew.”

  After a few more chuckles, Matt didn’t want to keep razzing his already stressed-out friend. He leaned over and rested his chin on Haku’s shoulder. “Why don’t you just move in with me already?”

  Haku sighed. “We’ve talked about this before. Your place has the worst parking, the live music in the coffee shop every Thursday night sucks, the water heater’s always busted, etcetera.”

  “All true,” Matt agreed. He brushed his lips across Haku’s cheek, inhaling the faint, citrusy trace of Haku’s aftershave and the warm, dusky scent of Haku himself. Just like in his dream. “But wouldn’t it also be great to wake up every morning in each other’s arms?”

  “Matt…” Haku looked up. If he meant to say anything in protest, he changed his mind and touched his lips to Matt’s. Haku pulled away for a quick breath and then dipped back in, this time for an open-mouthed kiss that made Matt’s heart start pounding. He tugged on Haku’s lower lip and slid into the warm recess of Haku’s mouth until their tongues met.

  Sitting up straight, Haku made a muffled sound against Matt’s lips. Matt slid closer on the desk, his hands smoothing over the front of Haku’s chest. He slipped his fingers under the bottom of Haku’s ribbed shirt to find the smooth, muscled abdomen underneath.

  “Wait, wait.” Haku tilted his head to break their kiss and reached up with one hand to stop his glasses from tumbling off his head, while the other was busy tugging open the buttons of Matt’s shirt.

  Matt traced a path down the side of Haku’s neck, kissing the spot above his collar where Haku’s shoulder started. “Uh-huh?” he murmured huskily.

  “Someone might come,” Haku said.

  “I’m betting we both do.” Matt grinned and dropped down. He knelt between Haku and the desk, positioning himself in front of the other man’s knees. Tucking his hands into the waistband of Haku’s jeans, Matt tugged Haku forward.

  “What are you doing?” Haku panted, gripping the chair’s armrests.

  Matt replied by unbuttoning Haku’s jeans and pulling down the fly. The front of Haku’s briefs tented up around the growing erection within. Finding the part along the underwear’s seam, Matt pulled the swollen organ free.

  “I had a dream about you last night,” Matt said, skimming his lips over his best friend’s sex. He licked a path along the underside of the thick cock and felt Haku’s pulse throbbing under the skin.

  “You dreamed about my dick?” Haku swallowed loud enough for Matt to hear the gulp.

  “The rest of you was there, too,” Matt assured him. He lapped his tongue over the entire length of Haku’s penis, mouthing and suckling on the head while his own pants started to tighten around his crotch. He moaned, working his mouth more urgently as he pressed his palm over his own hard-on.

  “Oh, God.” Haku bent forward, gripping the edge of the desk for support. “You are not about to give me a blowjob in the middle of this classroom.”

  “You know, your cheeks turn the same color as your cock when you blush,” Matt murmured, then wrapped his lips around the head of Haku’s shaft.

  “Matt…” Haku whined. He squeezed his eyes shut and let out a deep moan. “Don’t just give me a tongue bath down there, use your hands!”

  Still sucking on the tip, Matt stroked and fondled the firm length of Haku’s cock until he gave a satisfied whimper. The first beads of precum oozed out onto Matt’s tongue, the dusky taste making him eager for more.

  The door to the lecture hall burst open.

  Haku jumped in his seat, and Matt almost started choking on his own spit. Before Matt could move, Haku shoved the chair forward and tucked as much of himself under the desk as he could, pinning Matt between his legs and the desk’s backing. Matt tried to move in the cramped little space and banged his head against the aluminum with a dull thud.

  “Everything okay, Mr. Nishikawa?”

  Matt froze and sucked in his breath. Who the hell was that? He heard the door bang open again as more people started filing into the room.

  “Uh, yeah.” Haku gave a short, strained laugh, either from nerves or the fact his diaphragm was shoved up so close against the edge of the desk he could barely breathe. “What’s up?”

  Matt stifled a groan and felt Haku’s legs tense around him as the guy realized his own poor choice of words. Enough light made it up through the skirt of the desk for Matt to see “it” was still very much up at attention.

  In fact, Haku’s cock was within a millimeter of rubbing against the underside of the desk. The erection seemed fuller, even. Haku, that wild man ‑‑ danger or fear of mortal embarrassment anyway, turned out to be a complete turn-on for him.

  Haku cleared his throat and tried again. “What are all of you doing here?”

  “Uh, the exam for Professor Adler’s class is scheduled for this period.”

  Haku gave that nervous laugh again. “It’s too early.”

  “But it’s already ten after,” the student said.

  Just send them away. Matt rubbed his temples and hoped to God he had some latent ESP abilities to get the message to Haku. Reschedule the exam, Haku. Reschedule.

  “Well, then,” Haku said. “Take one of the question banks from the stack and get started. We all know the exam was scheduled for this hour, so hopefully we’ve all learned a little something about responsibility today.”

  “Uh, okay,” the student said. “Whatever.”

  Son of a bitch. Matt slouched forward, tempted to bite Haku in the kneecap for this. Twenty minutes that felt more like twenty hours dragged by, boredom setting in faster than the cramp in his ass from being hunched over. Who knew how long he’d be stuck under this desk and jammed in this tight space with nothing to do?

  Well, almost nothing.

  Matt dove for the head of Haku’s cock, taking it deep within his mouth and stroking the slit with his tongue. Haku whimpered and tensed as if he might jump from his seat. But for the very proper Mr. Nishikawa, the thought of giving
the freshman class a good look at his very prominent erection kept his butt glued to the vinyl.

  Matt almost cackled, but was too busy kissing and licking at the sensitive fold of skin where Haku’s shaft met the taut sac underneath.

  “Are you sure everything is okay, Mr. Nishikawa?”

  “Super,” Haku squeaked above the desk. “Just. Super.”

  Matt swallowed a laugh along with some more of Haku’s precum as the fluid dribbled down to his lips. He swabbed his tongue over Haku’s balls, grinning to himself when Haku’s knees started shaking. Scrunched as close as possible, Matt worked a hand in through the top of Haku’s pants to stroke his inner thigh.

  Whimpering, Haku spread his legs open as far as they could go in the small space. His knees banged on the inside of the desk, and he coughed loudly to cover up another groan when Matt started tugging on his cock. Haku shuffled through a stack of blank exams, drummed his fingers on the desktop, and kept clearing his throat like he was trying to cough up a hairball.

  The man was going nuts, but that didn’t stop him from rocking his hips forward to match the pace of Matt’s strokes.

  The chair started creaking with each thrust. By now, all the students were well into their exams and working in quiet concentration. The screeching jarred the silence of the room. Haku stopped, his hips half-raised off the seat. “No…” he said, a little short of breath. “Maintenance hasn’t fixed this chair yet. Have to, uh, ride another order. I mean write another order!” he blurted out to correct himself. Matt made a mental note to point out afterward the number of times Haku let these little Freudian slips get out.

  Haku lowered himself into the seat. He leaned back and peered down past his waist through half-lidded eyes. Matt pulled away from Haku’s dick to mouth, Enough?

  Tilting his head back, Haku sighed, “Don’t stop.”

  “I thought we could leave early if we’re finished,” a student asked from across the desk.