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Standard disclaimer, these characters don't belong to me, all that.... another first-time story for Nick and Derek.
*I don't have a solution, but I admire the problem*
There were twelve girls from the university’s chemistry lab, all wearing their labcoats, hair twisted on the backs of their heads as they entered the room where guest-speaker, Dr. Derek Rayne was sitting at the desk. He stood as they approached him. "Hi, girls. What can I do for you?" "We heard your lecture. We liked your theories on Theology/Philosophy. It was very thought-provoking.” said Kara, their obvious leader. During the lecture, Kara had been the persistent questioner, the only one out of a hundred students. “Now, we'd like to run something by you that we have invented. Do you have any objections to being our test subject? We have created a truly scientific love potion and we need someone to test it on." He smiled and glanced at his watch. "I've got about twenty minutes. I have an appointment, but not until four. Show me what you have, girls.” Harmless enough distraction.
Kara was wearing gloves. She stepped up to him with a container of lotion-like liquid and began to apply it to his hands and arms. He resisted at first, then surrendered and allowed her to smear as much of his arms as his sleeves gave her access to, then she attacked his face with the lotion.
"Kara, don't..." It was too late. She already had his lower face and neck covered with it. In annoyance, he let her rub it in. "What's this supposed to do?"
"It attracts the opposite sex."
He nodded. "If it works, remember there are twelve of you. I cannot possibly defend myself against so many women."
The group laughed and Kara stepped back. "It will take about twenty four hours to take effect. We want to know how it's working later. Can you call us and give us a report?"
"Sure." he said. "Give me your phone number." Then, after several giggles, he added, “So I can let you know how it is working.” Kara handed it to him on a filecard and he slipped it into his breast pocket. "Have you tested it before?" he asked.
"We've all tried it. None of us are virgins any more." Kara said, smiling.
He smiled, too. "What if I get accosted by women I'm not attracted to?"
"That happens a lot." she said. "We had trouble with the no-good boys who hang out in the pool room all the time."
He sat down on the edge of the desk. "I'm dizzy."
"Oh, yeah, it doesn't last long." Kara took him by the arm. "It's already working. It took a long time for us." She frowned in concern. "Maybe this batch was stronger."
"Donna spilled more of the Aphrodite Chemical in it." one of the girls tattled.
Kara's mouth went wide. "How much?"
"Half the bottle."
"Donna? Why didn't you say something?"
Donna looked guilty. "I didn't think it would hurt anything. I thought maybe...if we were going to use it on a man, that he would need more of the chemical. He's the first man who's tried it, you know."
Kara gazed into Derek's eyes and saw that he was very near to passing out. "Sit down." she said, pushing him down into the chair. Suddenly, he was looking up into the circle of girls surrounding him. He took in a deep breath and experienced an internal tremor. He closed his eyes. Swirling, motion, queasiness, muscles that would not relax, gripped to the point of pain, then the softness of feathers, quiet, pink and white lights while he floated weightlessly. No more pain. Awareness left him for a time.
It was only Kara beside him when he opened his eyes again. He sat up, visibly shaken. "That's some potent drug you put on me, Kara." he complained. "I think I need to go home and take a shower now, before it causes some other terrible side effect."
Kara was gazing at his face. "Too late. You can't take a shower. You have to leave it on for twenty four hours. It smells pretty bad at first but it doesn't last long. Here, let me put some on your chest."
"No! You've done enough already!" he grabbed the front of his shirt protectively. "Go away now, girl, and leave me alone!"
She grinned and handed him a second bottle. "This is the catalyst, but it won't work until after twenty four hours. Take a shower and then rub this on all the places we put the other. Be careful and don't let this get in your hair. Let me tell you the dos and don'ts for the next twenty four hours, though. Can you remember all this?”
“Tell me.” Derek said, in annoyance.
“Don't drink any alcohol, don't take any aspirins, don't eat any grain cereals or any seafoods, don't take a shower, and don't exert yourself physically. Also, don't have sex."
"Those are all don'ts. What are the dos?"
"*Do* sleep all you can. That's it. Sleep."
He shoved the bottle into his pocket. "Thank you." he said.
"I'll be going now." she said, backing away. "Thanks for letting us use you as a subject and....sorry for all the inconvenience."
He nodded, looking at his watch again. It was three fifty five. Her twenty minutes was gone. He had to hurry if he wanted to make the appointment with the antique dealer. Grabbing up his books, he made a fast dash to his Range Rover and pitched them in, then drove like a madman to the shop on Second Street, thirty two blocks from the San Francisco university. It was seven past four when he walked in the door. The antique dealer's name was Pete Mills. He and his wife Joyce had run the shop for a decade, mostly selling antiques, but other items as well. The sword Derek had come to buy was expensive, a sale that was very important to the aging couple.
Pete and Joyce met him with smiles. "You're late, Dr. Rayne!" Joyce said, moving to draw him into the curtained room behind the shop's front. "You look flushed. You're not sick, are you?" She was busily inspecting his face. "Look at him, Pete, he looks sick, doesn't he?"
Pete came to join them as they sat at a table in the back. "Let's see." He caught Derek's head in his hands and looked at his face, imitating a doctor's examination. "I don't see nothing wrong with him. He looks fine. You're paranoid, woman! Go get us some tea! That'll make him feel all better. It'll make me feel better, too, if you put some of that scotch in it."
Joyce nodded. "That's a good idea. Tea will perk you right up. I'll get you that special herbal tea." She scurried over to the kitchen area and it was then that Derek realized they lived here. This was not just their shop, it was their home. He mused to himself that these two reminded him of Archie and Edith from that silly old TV show. What was the name of that show, anyway....?
After a half hour of nonsensical, pre-sale banter, three cups of the scotch-laced herbal tea and a couple of doughnuts, the sword was finally presented, wrapped in a heavy Oriental rug. Derek carefully unwrapped it and lifted the precious item, gazed at it in appreciation. It was Oriental, too, from China, made by a Holy Man in the 1700s.
The hilt was decorated with a dragon, the blade gleamed in the light, razor-edged on but one side. He nodded as he stood back from them and swished it through the air in a few ungainly practice swings. "It's beautiful." he said, as he took his seat again.
Joyce pulled her chair up next to him. "So you want to buy it?"
"Yes." Derek answered. "I want to buy it."
Pete was sitting on his other side. "You'll pay the price I asked?"
"Yes." From his pocket, Derek handed him a certified check for one hundred and seventy five thousand dollars. "It's well worth it." Pete's eyes got wide. He showed it to Joyce, and her eyes got wide, too. She threw her arms around Derek kissed him on both cheeks, and went to get them some more of the spiked tea.
"It's good doing business with you." Pete said, shaking his hand. Before Derek managed an escape with his newly purchased sword, he was hugged repeatedly by Joyce, patted on the back and shoulders again and again by Pete and had drunk far too much of the herbal tea. His bladder was near the bursting point as he drove toward the ferry.
By the time he reached his home, a huge, ivied castle on Angel Island, he was not sure he would make it to the bathroom in time, and his head was buzzing with the liquor. His timing was precise getting to the toilet, but the buzzing continued. As he laid the sword on the bed, something in the back of his mind reminded him of Kara's warning to sleep, but he was to excited about the new sword to exercise caution. It had all been a child’s prank, anyway, he thought.
He changed into swim trunks and went downstairs to the indoor pool. He began to swim laps slowly, carefully, then became intense and driven. He wasn’t normally so fanatical about his swimming. He felt different. Strange.
His head was beginning to pound from the effects of the tea and the vigorous workout. He massaged his throbbing temples as he climbed the stairs again to his room. He found the bottle of pain relieving tablets in the medicine cabinet and popped the top, reading on the label to see that they were aspirin based. He laughed at the the memory of Kara's warning. College girls and their imagination, he thought. He took seven of the pills, then stripped off the wet trunks and took a long, luxurious shower.
He was celebrating his ownership of the new sword, so in tribute, he decided to have supper in San Franciso at his favorite Chinese restaurant. He called Nick in the control room, the only other Legacy member who wasn’t working in the field. "Are you hungry?" he asked.
"What kinda question is that? You know me." Nick answered.
"Can I buy you supper? Chinese?"
"Sure. Sounds great. I’ll get ready."
"Good. I've got something to show you."
Nick was curious. "What is it?"
"I bought a new sword."
"Like you don't already have enough swords around here. They’re on every wall."
"It's Chinese."
Now, Nick's voice was uneasy. "How much did you pay for it, Derek?"
"That's none of your business."
"Okay. If that’s the way you want it."
Derek sighed. "A hundred seventy five thousand."
Nick drew a long sigh and Derek could picture his troubled young face, the hand that combed fingers through his dark brown hair, the piqued shake of his head. "I've got to go change clothes. When are we leaving?"
"In a few minutes. Whenever you’re ready." Derek hung up the phone and went to take up the sword again, swung it around a few times before he got dressed for dinner.
Nick knocked on his door ten minutes later, a quiet look of disapproval on his face. "Let me see the sword." he said.
Derek handed it to him. "It's worth what I paid for it. Actually, it's worth more."
Nick wasn't convinced. He handled the sword, pitching it from hand to hand and swinging it a few times around the room. It was evident that he had handled a sword before. "It's light. Made in China, you say?"
"Yes."
Nick played with it for a few more minutes, then put it back on the rug, wrapping it with care. Thoughtfully, he slid it under the bed. "Are you ready?"
"I'm ready."
Nick drove the Range Rover to the ferry that transported them back to San Francisco, and as they crossed the expanse of water, Nick caught a whiff of Derek’s breath. "You've really been hitting the sauce, haven't you?" His hazel eyes were now slightly worried. "Is something wrong?"
"No, nothing's wrong. What makes you say that?"
"Because you've been drinking, and you act like you don't have a care in the world when you've just unloaded almost two hundred grand in one whop."
"The liquor was in the tea."
Nick nodded, knowingly. "And where did you get the tea?"
"From the people who sold me the sword."
"Of course. Now it all makes sense."
Derek laughed, untroubled. "Nick, stop trying to find something to be angry about. It'll spoil your dinner."
“I’m glad you can laugh about it.” Nick muttered. Derek had clearly taken leave of his senses. “The Legacy is on a budget. I’ve glanced over the books. We can’t afford to spend like that.”
“Nick, it didn’t come from the Legacy’s funds. It came from my own.” Nick just stared at him in disbelief.
Nick's mood was better by the time their plates were set in front of them. They had ordered shrimp and rice, which was accompanied by many other lesser sidedishes. They ate until their stomachs hurt, and were grateful for the short walk back to the parking lot. They were uncomfortably bloated so they bought antacids at a convenience store. They felt better as they returned to Angel Island.
Derek took out the sword again, and carried it to the living room, sat holding it for a time as he and Nick discussed its origin and rarity. It was eight thirty when Nick yawned. “I have a lot of work to do.” he said. “I need some coffee so I can stay awake.”
“Let’s go to the kitchen. I’ll have coffee, too.” Derek said.
Their pot of coffee was accompanied by whole-wheat/gingerbread treats. Nick noted with wonder that Derek could not seem to stop talking. He rattled on and on incessently about the history of the sword he had bought.
He included some very graphic Chinese history, even mentioned a few familiar names. When Nick asked about his lecture at the university, Derek’s answer was swift and evasive. “It went well.” Then, he lunged into another very energetic commentary concerning Chinese history. Nick put his elbow on the table, leaned his chin into the heel of his hand and listened without interruption for over an hour.
Derek was seated on the floor in front of the TV, wearing nothing but his bathrobe, a bowl of freshly-popped popcorn on his lap when Nick passed through the living room at midnight. With a smile, the younger man said, "You look comfortable."
"I am." Derek's brown eyes were dancing as he patted the floor beside him, showing him the popcorn. "Sit with me. This is a good movie. I haven't seen it in twenty years."
Nick laughed and sat down, took a handful of popcorn. "That long? Must be a good one. Okay. Why not? I've got nothing to do in the morning."
"Or tonight. Nothing important."
"Yeah, nothing important tonight." Nick caught his steady, smiling gaze and returned it. They watched the movie, held spellbound by the romance and the suspense. When it was over, another movie, just as old and just as corny came on, so Nick stayed to watch it, too. It was nearing four in the morning when the second movie was finally over, and Derek was still wide awake, full of energy.
Nick had made another pot of coffee, had poured his eighth cup. He studied his precept as the credits rolled. "You're not tired yet?"
Derek’s eyes were wide and bright. "No, are you?"
"A little." Nick admitted.
Derek did not know why, he was not accustomed to sitting up all hours of the night, but for some insane reason, he was not sleepy at all and these movies were of intense interest to him. He wanted to watch another one. "I think I'm gonna hit the sack." Nick finally said, setting his coffee on the square coffee table half finished. He yawned and stood, stretching to his full five feet nine inches, looked longingly up the stairs toward his bedroom. "Good night, Derek."
Derek looked disappointed. "Good night."
Nick sighed and hesitated. "Derek, what's wrong?"
"Nothing. I just....wanted you to stay and watch movies with me."
Nick was worried about him. His Obsessive/Compulsive behavior was not normal. "Tomorrow night. We'll watch movies all night if you want to, okay? I'll sleep late so I can stay up late. I got up early this morning - correction - yesterday morning, so I'm tired."
Derek nodded, understanding. "Okay." he said.
Nick smiled at him and gave him a quick hug. "Go to bed, Derek." he murmured in his ear. "I'll see you tomorrow."
To Derek, the hug was electric, but Nick seemed unaware. The precept nodded sadly as he pulled away. "Good night, Nick."
When Nick trudged up the long staircase to his room, Derek went back to his spot on the floor and watched another movie.
Derek sat up all night. It was nine o'clock when he went out again, this time for supplies. At a San Francisco department store, he loaded a cart with miscellaneous goods which included everything from underwear to drink mixes, paid over three hundred dollars at the register, then took everything home and put it neatly away. In the kitchen, he made a salmon loaf with eggs, onions, oats, mustard and ketchup and searched the liquor cabinet until he found the bottle of chablis he had been saving for a breakfast of salmon.
Just as he took the loaf from the oven, the doorbell rang. He opened it to Saundra West, another Legacy member and, coincidentally, a historian. Saundra was beautiful and had been Derek's date on several Legacy-related occasions, but she had never before visited him at his house.
She wore a pale blue skirt and matching jacket, one that enhanced her olive complexion. Her dark brown eyes were very large, her red lips very full. He found he could not take his eyes off her face.
He led her into the kitchen, apologizing for the mess. "I don’t normally cook. I don’t know what got into me today--I just wanted to make breakfast. Would you have some salmon loaf and chablis with me?"
She took off her jacket and went to pour herself some of the chablis, nodding in approval at the flavor. "Perfect for breakfast." she said with a flirtatious laugh.
They ate, and she explained her reason for the visit. "I was asked to give you this picture.” She dug in her pocketbook and handed him a photograph. The ghostly face of a child looked pitifully into the camera.
“What is this?” he asked.
“The woman who took the picture says it’s her daughter.” Derek waited. “The woman is in her seventies, and her daughter died more than forty years ago, at the age of seven. The picture was taken recently.”
“So the child is coming back to her mother as a ghost.”
“That’s what we can assume. The reason she has returned now, after so many years is what’s puzzling her.”
Derek nodded. “People nearing death are more likely to see ghosts, especially the ghosts of loved ones.”
“Nearing death. This is a very possible explanation.” She smiled boldly straight into his eyes and finished off her wine in one gulp. Taking the photograph from him, she dropped it on the table top, forgotten. Her arms went around his neck and she kissed him. “You are very good at what you do, Derek.”
He laughed. “Thank you. And I will have you to know that I am not so easily seduced....but please do not stop trying." He pulled her close.
She kissed him again. "How hard to you want me to try?"
"That's up to you."
She caught his hands and towed him toward the stairs. "Come on. Show me your bedroom. I have an hour to spare."
Saundra had gone and Derek had taken another shower. He was about to get dressed when his eyes fell on Kara's potion that he had taken from his pocket and set on the bathroom shelf. He took the bottle and unscrewed the top, musing to himself as he poured some into his palm. He smeared the green colored lotion over his lower face, his neck, his chest and arms, then, smirking to himself, also put it on his abdomen, hips and buttocks. He pitched the empty container in the garbage, got dressed and went to the control room to turn on the computer.
Nick found him there reading from the databases. "What are you doing?"
“Reading about my sword.” Derek answered, very absorbed.
Nick reached over him to turn off the computer. "Let’s go do something." he suggested. "You look tired. Come on, Derek. Forget that sword a while. Let's go get something to eat."
Derek looked miffed but he followed Nick out the door. "Where do you want to go? This will mean another trip to San Francisco."
"How about the Chicken House?"
“The Chicken House? Why there?”
“Because Shawn works there and he asked us to drop by.”
“Nick, I have a perfectly good salmon loaf in the kitchen.”
Nick wrinkled up his nose. “I think I’d prefer the Chicken House. I’m buying.”
“Are you sure you can afford it?” Derek’s sarcasm was uncharacteristic.
Nick gazed at him thoughtfully. “I think I can scrape up enough pennies to pay the bill.” he answered.
“I’m sorry, Nick. I’m feeling very strange today. I don’t know what’s wrong.”
“Don’t worry about it. Come on. Let’s go.” Nick said.
They sat in a booth, facing each other, and Nick was troubled by the precept’s gloom. "Derek, there is something really wrong with you. I wish you would tell me what’s bugging you."
"I wish I knew." Derek looked up into the face of the waiter who stood ready to take their order. "Hi, Shawn." he greeted, recognizing the tall young man he knew to be one of Nick’s good friends. "Haven't seen you at the house in a while."
"I've been working." Shawn explained. "All the time. They're gonna make me the manager, so I have to stay a lot to look like I'm dedicated."
"How's your wife?"
"She left me." Shawn answered, not meeting his eyes. Scanning the table top, he said, "Hi, Nick."
"Hi, Shawn." Nick said.
"So, what do you guys want?"
"How about some chicken." Derek said.
"Ha ha." Shawn said. "Fried, broiled, barbecued, grilled or sauted?" Derek shook his head. "Fried. I'll take the two piece dinner. White meat."
"Me, too." Nick said. "Cokes to drink."
Shawn went for their dinners, and when he returned, he sat down beside Derek. "I’ll come out and visit in a few days, soon as I get a day off from this place." he promised, leaning close and sniffing at his shoulder. "You smell good. What is that?"
Derek was unsettled by his nearness. "Soap." he said warily. He remembered the scentless catalyst lotion, wondered if it had developed an odor after mixing with his own personal scent.
"I like it." Shawn moved closer until his nose was in the curve of his neck. "Very nice."
Derek sat stiffly, watching him with an uncertain frown. "Shawn?"
Shawn backed away and met his eyes. "Hm? Oh, I'm sorry." He got up from the booth, pushed the drinks closer to them. "Here. Enjoy your meal and thank you for visiting the Chicken House." In embarrassment, he hurried away.
Nick watched his departure, then shook his head in confusion. "He's been working way too hard." he commented.
Derek cleared his throat and took a drink of Coke before he began his meal. "Either that or he's torn up by his wife leaving him."
Nick dismissed the matter. "So how late did you sit up last night?"
"Never went to bed."
"That's what I thought. You've got dark circles under your eyes. How do you feel?"
"I'm fine. Never better."
"We'll see about that tonight. Let's see if you want to sit up watching movies all night again. I'll bet I can outlast you tonight."
"I've got plenty of coffee, lots of popcorn. Plenty of other snacks, too. There are some good ones coming on. I've already checked it out in the satellite TV Guide."
"Any action stuff? Thrillers?"
"More like drama."
"How about if we rent one?"
"You want to rent one when there are free ones on?"
"You can spend a hundred and seventy five thousand on a sword without batting an eye, but you gripe at the price of a movie rental. I want to watch something that doesn't put me to sleep."
They ate, playfully arguing and discussing the ghost situation in Virginia. Derek told him about Saundra’s visit, about the photograph she had brought. He did not tell him about the intimate relations he had shared with her before she had gone. Nick read between the lines.
As they rode home it seemed that everybody on the ferry from San Franciso to Angel Island, for one reason or another, had to touch Derek, had to get close to him. Women stepped up to rub against him. Men had to pat him on the back. He had never been so popular in his life. Two traveling dogs came to lick his hand, to sniff his leg, an act that made him very nervous.
By this time, he had decided that the potion the chem lab girls had rubbed on him was genuine and that he was definitely in trouble. He had done everything, every *single* thing Kara had warned him not to do. Evidently, *everybody* and *everything* lusted after him now.
He had changed, his entire disposition was different. He would have never begged Nick to spend the night watching old movies with him. He would not have been so easily seduced by a woman he only knew casually. He would not have been so utterly obsessed by a sword or any other antique, no matter what its worth. He had never stayed up a whole night seated on the floor watching boring old movies wearing nothing but a bathrobe. His own actions, as well as the actions of the people around him, were causing him panic.
"Man," Nick marveled, amazed at all the attention he was getting. "I feel like I'm privileged to be the one with you here. Everybody loves you. What's going on, Derek?"
Derek gazed at him. "The love potion. It works."
"What? Come again with that about the love potion."
"Kara and the other chem lab girls at the university....they put some lotion on me that was supposed to be a love potion they'd concocted. They gave me this other bottle of lotion to rub on afterward. I think it went haywire. Even the dogs are ready to jump my bones! Nick, I need to get home fast and call her!"
Nick thought he was joking at first, but when he saw the seriousness on his face, he cleared a path to the Range Rover. As soon as they were off the ferry, he stepped on the gas and drove home as fast as was safe.
Derek used the living room phone to call Kara, sat on the square coffee table as he talked. "Hello?" she said.
"Kara, it's Dr. Rayne."
"Oh, hi, Dr. Rayne, how's it working? Have you had any reaction?"
"I've had more than I care to think about."
"Tell me about it." she said, very interested. "How do you feel?"
"I’ve gone insane and I've made every man, woman, dog and cat within a mile horny." He sat on the corner of the table, watching Nick pace circles around him.
"It's not working right, then. You didn't take a shower, did you?"
"Well, yes, I took a shower."
"I told you not to take a shower! You weren't supposed to have sex, take a shower, eat any seafood or grain, drink any alcohol, take any aspirins or exert yourself physically!"
Derek took a deep breath. "I think I did them all."
"I told you to sleep."
"I haven't slept at all."
"Then it's your own fault. You should have listened to me." she said flippantly.
"Kara! What am I supposed to do?"
"There's nothing you can do except wait it out."
Nick moved to his side, leaned to sniff just below his ear. Derek shooed him away. "Kara, how long? A few hours?"
"A few days, maybe. You got a stronger dose of it than we took. It might be a couple of weeks before it all goes away completely."
Nick was on his other side, sneaking in to smell his aroma. Derek turned to whack at him. "Stop it, Nick!" Into the phone, he said, "There's nothing I can do to make it go away now? Kara, tell me lemon juice or vinegar or something."
"You're welcome to try both of them if you want to smell like that." she said.
"But they won't work." he surmised.
"No, they won't work. Nothing will work. There isn't an antidote. Sorry."
Derek hung his head, felt Nick close against his back. "*You're* sorry. Kara, I didn't know this stuff would actually work! You've caused a tremendous upset in my life!"
"Sorry. Nothing I can do about it. You'll just have to wait it out."
Angrily he hung up the phone and turned again to face Nick. "Will you stop it!" he thundered. "I cannot believe this! Weeks, maybe months, maybe years! Unbelievable!" He strode to the stairs, waving his arms wildly, past being verbal. Nick trotted along after him like a puppy. Derek pointed a finger at him as they reached the second floor. "Keep your distance!"
Nick gave him a loopy grin. "You really do smell sexy."
Derek put his hands over his face, sighing wearily into them. "Nick, please."
"Do you still want to watch movies with me tonight?"
Derek looked at him through his fingers. "Will you behave yourself?"
"Of course I'll behave myself. I haven't done anything wrong, Derek."
Nick opened Derek’s bedroom door and stepped inside. Derek followed, closing the door behind them. They stood for a moment, studying one another. Then, finally, Derek said, "I'm sorry, Nick. You *didn't* do anything wrong and I'm sorry I treated you like that. Forgive me." Nick took a step toward him, but Derek escaped any possible physical contact, moved toward the bathroom. “Do me a favor, Nick and leave me alone a while.”
Nick looked dismayed, but backed out the door. “Okay. See you later.” he said, very reluctant to go.
“Yes, later.” Derek’s heart was heavy.
to be continued.....
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