“That’s our recording studio. The sound is great here, but we’ll show you later.” Penny took the cooler and absconded with it towards the kitchen.
The other part of the house looked more regular with a dining table in the middle and a wide door to the backyard. The hosts sat us at the table and didn’t allow us to help set it, asking about the trip, listening to us moan about the traffic and the delay.
“So, Rick.” Penny stuck a fork into the homemade empanada. “Ner told us you’re a musician and his special monsterfucker friend.” She wiggled her eyebrows.
“What?” I coughed as a piece of ravioli tried to choke me.
“Sorry, my sister is a bit crude,” Paula said, unsuccessfully hiding her grin.
“‘Monsterfucker’ is—” Penny started.
“I know what it means.” Heat filled my cheeks as I glanced at Ner. The fucker was giggling.
“It’s a sexually accepting household, I have orgy footage to prove it. Everyone consented to documenting it too.” Penny shrugged.
“My orgy days are behind me.” I squeezed Ner’s knee under the table, then traced my thumb along his cock.
“Once you have a taste of a partner with tentacles, you don’t need orgies anymore.” Penny grinned. I’d be jealous if I didn’t know Ner had never met the girls in person before.
“For sure. But I don’t think Ner has truly shown me what he can do yet.” My pout was Oscar-worthy. “I’m a bit disappointed.”
A collective gasp and laughter filled the room.
“Challenge accepted.” Ner lifted his glass of wine and I clinked it with mine.
“Tell me what you are looking for in terms of this mysterious sound Ner told us about.” Paula poured more wine for everyone, her slim tail wrapped around the bottle.
“Our band’s sound is nu-metal leaning towards punk with edgy synths and keys to spice it all up. Our keyboard player was also on vocals half of the time, but I think we could benefit by adding more keys live. I write songs on the guitar and keys are not my strength.”
“That’s where Ner comes in?” Penny asked.
“At first, I just wanted his opinion, but now he—” I glanced at Ner then back at the twins. “He became an inspiration.”
“Your muse?” Paula whistled low.
“Actually, yes. My muse.” I nodded, warmth spreading in my chest. “Even if I don’t find a new sound, I’m ready to write music again, I can feel it.” Reaching for Ner’s hand, I squeezed it. “I’ve filled half a notebook with lyrics since I met you.” I was done hiding how deep Ner had affected me. He should know and so might the rest of the world, starting with his friends.
Ner leaned over and kissed me briefly on the lips.
“Let’s see what you got then.” Penny stood up, and we followed, taking our plates to the kitchen.
We entered the high-ceilinged room where mass would take place if it remained a church. “Is that the famous instrument Ner told me about?” I pointed to the gigantic organ, its piping spanning from the floor to midway to the ceiling, the two levels of keys gleaming.
“Yeah.” Penny said. “We let people record on it here, but it can’t be moved. We make classic organs that you can buy online. We have several that come with a synthesizer too. Churches don’t buy those.” She laughed.
“It’s gorgeous.” Ner approached it and traced his finger over the swirly carvings on its side, then the keys themselves. His feathery touch didn’t elicit any sound but spiked the anticipation in me.
Someone tapped my shoulder, and I turned to see Penny handing me a Fender and a cable.
“I have mine in the trunk,” I said but reached for the black beauty, anyway.
“Don’t worry, we don’t mind sharing.” She bit her lip and my mouth twitched in a smile at the double entendre.
“Thanks.” I slung the neon pink belt over my neck and took the chair to the side of the organ. I checked how it was tuned and adjusted settings. “She sounds beautiful.”
“Let’s see what you can coax from her.” Paula leaned back in an armchair, her expectant look reminding me of my band’s manager.
Ner sat at the bench in front of the organ and unwound his upper tentacles, placing them on the top keys and his hands on the bottom ones.
