Jose sticks around for the afterparty

Seeing as how he needed to get his clothes back, Jose decided not to take off just yet. Donning his performance trench coat, the dancer stepped outside and looked for a familiar face to guide him back to Katy’s dressing room. Lots of performers and stage hands were milling about in the back when he exited the booth. They were already packing up the gear and clearing out the stadium. Everyone was so busy, whizzing by with things to do, that Jose couldn’t stop any of them to ask for directions. He started to look lost when he felt two hands pat him on the shoulders.

“Jose! My man!” called out the taller man behind him. Jose turned around to recognize his dance partner from the Shark number.

“Trey!”

“Jose, let me introduce you to the others,” Trey said, with a smile, guiding him to the group of stage performers. “Guys! This is the shark!”

“Hey! Shark!” called out one of the dancers, slapping Jose’s hand. The others formed up to give the escort welcoming hand slaps and fist bumps. While a lot of the response felt genuine, he could feel some of them judging him silently, while others seemed to be checking him out hungrily, like he was fresh meat. He was used to this sort of thing as a stage performer in his own right, so he took it in stride, smiling and greeting everyone as politely as he could.

“Great show out there!” said one of the lady dancers.

“Yeah, we weren’t expecting you to pull any of those moves, you got dance experience?” asked another.

“Some… yeah,” Jose replied, sheepishly, not wanting to go into his male dancer experience.

“Katy likes to bring in a fan and surprise them by bringing them on stage,” another dancer explained. “Normally it’s just a fun experience for them, but I heard some of the producers talking about maybe bringing you on tour with us!”

“Wow… really?” Jose replied, wondering if he’d be up for touring with Katy Perry.

“Yo! You’re coming to the afterparty, right?” Trey asked.

“Afterparty?”

“Yeah, you’re part of the crew now, you’re coming!” Trey resolved.

“I kind of need to find my regular clothes first,” Jose replied, straightening his trenchcoat. He then leaned in and whispered to Trey, “I sort of left them at Katy’s dressing room…”

“Ah…” Trey nodded, knowingly. He whispered back, “I got you, bro…” He then glanced around and told the others, “We’re going to go find where they stashed my boy’s clothes.”

They split up from the group and Trey waved down one of the managers. Jose recognized her as the one who took him to Katy’s dressing room in the first place.

“Cindy!” Trey called out. The bespectacled brunette turned her head. “Katy’s guest needs to get back to her dressing room to pick up his clothes,” Trey explained to her.

Cindy looked Jose up and down with a blank face, then nodded. “You did a good job out there,” she complimented.

“That’s high praise, coming from Cin!” Trey informed him with a pat on the back.

“Thanks,” Jose replied with a grin.

“Come with me,” Cindy told him, leading the two to her electric cart. She carted them around the back area, speeding through the workers and props with precision driving.

“Once you've changed, I’ll take you to the venue. Do you have a ride?” Trey asked Jose.

“I took the bus,” Jose replied.

“You can ride with us!” Trey grinned.

“Will Katy be there?” Jose asked.

“Yeah, she’ll show up. I’m sure she’ll want to talk with you again!” Trey said.

Cindy let Jose into the dressing room and he found his clothes there. Katy hadn’t been back yet and was nowhere around at the moment, but if she was going to be at the afterparty, Jose didn’t see a need to wait around for her. He changed and left his costume on the rack, then Cindy dropped the two off at the performers’ bus.

From the outside, it looked like a typical long distance bus with luggage space on the exterior and steps up to the seating, but inside it looked pimped out. It had leather interiors with large bucket seats that looked comfortable to sit in for long trips. The inside was lit by neon fluorescents and there were several video monitors playing music videos.

The bus was already filled with dancers chatting amongst themselves. There was a buzz in the room as everyone was still energized from their performance.

“Yo! It’s the shark!” called out one of the guys Trey introduced Jose to earlier. The others stopped their conversations and turned to the young hispanic man.

“Shark! Shark! Shark!” they all started chanting, giving Jose their full attention. The chants grew louder and faster until the bus started to rumble from their enthusiasm. It built up into a crescendo and everyone hooted and hollered, stomping the floor and clapping their hands!

“Welcome to the party bus!” greeted a slender dancer with a shock of pink hair. She smiled at Jose and brushed him delicately on his arm. Jose smiled and waved to everyone.

“You really hit it big! Check it out! You’re trending!” called out another dancer, holding his phone out for Jose to see. It was an instagram post with his shark dance. Jose glanced at the view count and it was already at 250,000!

“Woah!” Jose said, scrolling down to the comments.

People were raving about Left Shark! There were comments calling it vindication for the super bowl performance. Others were demanding he be signed on as part of the tour. Some commenters were even offering invitations to have their babies. Jose was a little overwhelmed by the positive reaction.

“Dude, you’re Big Time now!” Trey laughed, patting his shoulder. “You know what that means?”

“What?” Jose asked.

“We celebrate!”

The bus took them to a local club which had been closed off from the public for their private reception. The bar was open and the music was pumping. The bar counter was standing room only, but there were booths spread out for more comfortable drinking. Executives and VIPs were already inside enjoying the venue. When the dance troupe arrived, they were greeted with a warm welcome and applause for their work. Trey once again pointed Jose out for his shark performance and there was a second round of cheers and another Shark! Chant for him. The dancers spread out among the crowd that was already there. The dance floor looked freshly polished and ready to be broken in, so a few of the dancers went right to it while others headed for a celebratory drink.

“Hey, I got the first round!” Trey told him.

“Hitting the dance floor?” asked the hot pink haired lady from the bus. She winked at him and swayed her hips as she stepped onto the dance floor. She was wearing form fitting latex pants that highlighted the curves of her ass as she sauntered down to the dance floor. Jose turned to Trey, who shrugged, leaving the decision up to him.