by M. O. McLeod
*
“So you paid your brothers to take your mom out to dinner? Pretty smart.” Santino smiled in Kurma’s face. “I know you want this as much as I do.”
“I just want this to be right,” Kurma said nervously. “We’re doing this because we care about each other.”
Santino reached over to pull her on top of him. “I want to make us last, and I want to take care of you.”
Kurma felt slightly better. She had been feeling like a wreck; her nerves were fried, and the anxiety had her stomach flipping out. For one, she was a virgin; for two, she wasn’t on birth control; and three, she didn’t know when her twin brothers and mother would come through the door.
“Come on. Let’s get this over with,” she said.
Santino was surprised. At first it seemed like Kurma had been holding out by making excuses and stalling every which way. But now she was in a rush.
“You’re taking the fun out of this,” he said. “Look, I lit candles, got rose pedals. None of this is appealing to you?”
Kurma tried to smile and slow down her thoughts. He did seem to be trying to put forth an effort. There were three lit candles in front of the vanity set, and pink rose petals littered the entrance to the bedroom. He even had his iPod playing her favorite song.
“Okay, let’s do it your way…the romantic way.” Kurma reluctantly let her control go and put her trust in Santino. She had no idea what he was going to do now that her V card was going to be swiped. Her mother always told her to wait. The longer you wait, she said, the longer they stay. Kurma closed her eyes as she felt Santino undo her clothes.
He touched her skin softly and maneuvered himself on top of her. Their kissing was deep; Kurma had forgotten how she loved to kiss Santino. He made this feel so right even though she knew she was doing it for the wrong reason.
The love between them generated a heat as the pressure mounted. Santino and Kurma were making love…and unknowingly planting a seed. However, the earth knew the seed would grow into a child who would grow into an adult, and that adult would create more children to bear more children. The earth’s core cracked at the exact moment Santino impregnated Kurma. The earth was tired and crumbling in on itself. It needed an answer to the source of the problems it was experiencing. The earth needed an answer to the overpopulation.