There was a moment of silence after Zach told David his situation.
David's eyebrows were raised in amusement. "So, basically, you want a love potion? For yourself?"
"No!" said Zach. "I want something that will make Kendall desire ME. Something that will cause me to project a desirability. I don't want anything like the Libidizone you drugged half the town with a few years ago."
"That wasn't mine," said David scornfully. "That was a drug company clinical trial drug. If I'd made it, there would have been fewer side effects."
"Whatever," said Zach. "But that's not the sort of thing I'm looking for."
"So, you're a flop with chicks?" said David.
The last defense crumbled. "Yes, " said Zach mournfully, sitting on David's couch and thinking how odd it was that David had the same taste in furniture that his brother Michael had. "Been that way since 1996. Every time I've gotten close to someone in the past 9 years, it's had a terrible outcome."
David narrowed his eyes and wagged a finger at Zach. "I've got it. Just the thing. I can mix it up right here in the sink." He gave him a wink and walked over to the test tube rack.
"I didn't know you had a sink," said Zach. "I thought you just had six test tubes and a beaker."
David snorted. "How can I make all those drugs with just six test tubes and a beaker? I have a computer, too". And he grabbed a few test tubes and walked into a kitchen Zach had not seen before.
David stood at the sink, pouring in a little of this and a little of that. He opened a cabinet above the sink, shook a little powder in. He stirred the mixture, scooped it out with a ladle and poured it into a glass.
Zach recoiled from the smell as David handed him the black potion.
"It smells like turpentine and looks like India Ink!" he gasped.
"Don't be so picky. This will work. You'll feel the courage almost immediately."
Yes, he was desperate. Zach held his nose, closed his eyes, and took a drink.