Chapter 24 : So Go Rob the Breadmaker (Low)
Sunday, January 16, 2011 at 8:16PM 
No longer out of deception—only out of self-preservation—Mikhail walked straight to the bathroom. He was about to rendezvous with the #720’s most desirable and virginal mistress. There were no actions that could take that from him; there was no one Chevy could charm because Chevy had no idea. Also, Chevy’s concentration was being spent elsewhere.
The steps to the bathroom were long and few. It took Mikhail two paces just to drop down to the next level, but only a few notches to get to the bottom. The hall to the men’s room was empty, as was the area adjacent to the little girl’s room. No one was stirring, not even a mouse. Everyone was there to see Weezy perform and either went before his ascent to the stage or were awaiting his exit. Mikhail started to get nervous.
Chapter 23 : A Doctor's Note From Him (Low)
Sunday, January 16, 2011 at 8:11PM 
Up in the tree, it was even easier to pick out the scattered suits, TSABDD brass, and cock teases in cocktail dresses, all networking at a natural noise level, discussing the things that rich people at parties politicked about. Groups of three or four mostly were arranged into circles that excluded everyone else or half-moons in an obvious effort to engage. Twenty-five groups in all, at least from his cursory head count. Among them, he could see his crew. Jayson was just a headless portrait of a pudgy friend, but Saffron, well, she stood out.
Saffron, The Internet, Weezy Chapter 22 : Oh, the Cuddle Possibilities (Low)
Sunday, January 16, 2011 at 8:00PM 
Mikhail stared at the wedge of branches and that pink sticky-note. Right next to the personless stage, the prospect of actually retrieving it looked like one he’d rather avoid. In descending order, he had his reasons:
HD, The Internet Chapter 21 : Life in HD (Low)
Sunday, January 16, 2011 at 7:22PM 
He had heard the stories, heard the whispers from the cleaning staff on their way home from The Hills, heard the copious online chatter, heard the myths from children without anything to say but unsubstantiated tales, and heard the sickening braggadocio of people much richer than him, but never before had Mikhail actually seen The Internet. And no matter how much his days in this world had prepared him for that particular moment, it still took him a few eye rubs to take it all in.
HD, Saffron, The Internet Chapter 20 : Orthodontry Sparkling in the Overhead Lights (Low)
Saturday, January 1, 2011 at 9:10PM 
“We ready to do this shit?” Chevy asked. “Rub up against the #720’s clit and cum on HD’s tits?”
He was rubbing up on Saffron like they were actually a couple and Mikhail couldn’t tell where the line of sand was actually drawn. Together, they looked like a brother-sister costume contest. He was a sailor, his ankles so brazenly showing and so bronzed. She was a ballerina chamber maid in tights and a form-fitting blouse that flitted out above her knees. And as lost at sea as she looked, Mikhail couldn’t tell what happened in his absence.
On the Move, Saffron Chapter 19 : Spores and Pores (Low)
Saturday, January 1, 2011 at 7:55PM 
Mikhail’s piss meter was approaching armageddon levels. Unable to turn his dosey-doh with Tupac into a quick story of charming reveal, he was absolutely thrilled at the convergence of chaos: Saffron and Jayson needed the bathroom, and so did he. It was a respite from the pressures on his mission and his stomach...without any of the guilt. And the latter was fierce on his scale of urination escalations—the need to pee was approaching Hall of Fame levels. He did his best to walk normally through the nagging pain, through the few minutes of absurdity to get to the next closest station of promise land.
Mr. Sallow, fighting Chapter 18 : Burning the Beer (Low)
Saturday, January 1, 2011 at 6:56PM 
The absolute darkness of the stairwell felt infinitely more comforting than the hug of a large-chested woman. While it was so terrifying on the way up, the way down provided the reality that Mikhail wasn’t yet dead. That he had survived. And that he had a mission. Mikhail practiced his strut with every invisible step, trying once again to instill himself with the optimism of a glass half full.
Chapter 17 : From Boys to Dogs to Men (Low)
Saturday, January 1, 2011 at 5:40PM 
A door behind the bar was opened and Mikhail was pushed through it. He started walking up a flight of stairs followed closely by Armstrong, Horry and then the downtrodden pony-tailed pillar. The steps were black. The walls were black. There were no lights.
Chapter 16 : Internet Explorers on an Internet Safari (Low)
Saturday, January 1, 2011 at 5:10PM 
“Please don’t take this as an insult,” Mikhail said, “but what’s your name again?”
“My arm is inside yours, mister, should I take that as a compliment?”
He looked the tattooed girl in her eyes, careful to leave all glances at her distracting cleavage out of his vision. If he was going to deliver soft kisses across the emblazoned letter on her neck, he’d have to keep his sight above board.
Chapter 15 : The Sliver BTWN Silvers (Low)
Wednesday, September 22, 2010 at 12:23PM 
Mikhail had seen Chevy approximate similar bullshit a few times, but never felt quick-witted enough to pull the trick himself. The svelte insides of Something were wholly worthy. With a low ceiling and an assortment of hushed booths, the place was only half-full and looking comfortable. A third of the line waiting outside could have gained entrance and no one would dare call the place packed. The lights were quiet compared to the insanity in the main terminal, and certainly those in Anything.
Chapter 14 : Counter Tray Right (Low)
Wednesday, September 8, 2010 at 2:27PM 
Not long after Hawthorne Mibbs left, Armstrong walked into The Sports with a group of similarly polo’d and khaki’d friends. They sat down at a booth with the decided comfort of home. Tossing an overflowing ashtray onto a neighboring table—members of the TSABDD were forbidden from smoking—they laughed loudly as its dirty contents sprayed across the lacquered wood. The man who was sitting in the booth, his face in folded arms, awoke with a shock, caught sleeping over his napkin of notes. The Tupac Shakur Association of Being Dastardly Dapper was resoundingly in effect.
TSABDD, The Sports Chapter 13 : Rubber Street Snakes (Low)
Wednesday, September 1, 2010 at 10:00PM 
Mikhail grabbed Saffron’s hand and pulled her forward. She struggled to keep up with his sprint, but his sprint was free and it felt like a sprint well-deserved. It was his first date with another woman after he had broken up with Katya—over a football game—and there were no rules that could touch him. Especially as he was bending the will of the sexiest girl he had ever laid eyes on, nevermind touched.
Compton's Circle, Jesus, Saffron, flashback Chapter 12 : A Sporting Chance (Low)
Wednesday, September 1, 2010 at 5:59PM 
Mikhail rushed out of Anything as soon as Katya’s coast was clear. She walked back to the bathroom and he sprinted towards the #720’s main terminal. He had to get the fuck out of there; too many newly hung ghosts floated about. Without hesitation or much thought at all, Mikhail headed straight for The Sports, not even bothering to look for his friends.
