It was obligatory, though Ariel was glad David volunteered for the part. He would've chosen the very obvious Piano Man, personally, but he was impressed all the same by the older man's performance. Rather unlike the teacher, however, he didn't clap politely. He laughed, only doubling over more, a hand over his mouth, when a whistle sounded from somewhere at the back of the room. The boy twisted in his seat, easily spotting the tall blond giving Mr. Bacchus a very thorough once over. He then turned back as the man returned to his seat and raised his eyebrows.
Now he offered some applause. He himself had gotten his second mojito while David had been waiting to perform. He sipped at it.
“Smooth moves, Mr. Bacchus,” said Ariel with another eyebrow wiggle. A lull came over the room and he stood to take advantage of it. “I thought it was good. But I’ve got one for you. Just wait.”
Ariel decided he was going to leave Billy Joel and the other generic choices with David. He told the pianist his next song and took the stage.
Teenage Dreams, Katy Perry, a mojito and a half deep. There was no way David was going to win. Whereas the older man had some sexy, rugged-man moves going on, Ariel surpassed him in the I’m-really-involved-with-this-song department, and this time, rather than keeping his line of sight above the heads of the crowd, he made eye contact and smiled, encouraging them to do the same. When it was over, there was more applause than before (though the blond didn’t whistle). Ariel strode from the stage to the bar.
“Katy Perry never sounded so good. Try and top that,” he laughed as he passed David to slide back onto his barstool and took up his drink.