Single Minded Purpose

Just Between Us Girls

Disclaimer: I don’t own anything associated with the Matrix.

Sarah yawned and stretched lazily and it took a few moments for her to realize that she was not in her apartment. Instead, she was lying naked on the dark green leather sofa in Smith’s living room; covered by the duvet he had given her while her clothes were drying. From what she could tell, she was alone in the apartment and glancing to the side, it seemed that the fire had long since died out.

“Smith?” she called and waited a few moments, but no one responded. Hmm, I wonder where he is, she mused idly.

She drew the duvet more closely around her and a small smile played at the corners of her lips as she remembered what had happened between herself and Smith the previous night. Reluctant to leave the comfortable warmth of the sofa, she got to her feet and found her clothes dry and neatly folded next to the sofa. I need a shower first before I get dressed she thought, gathering up her clothes and heading for the bathroom, closing the door behind her.

She stood underneath the hot stream of water for quite a while, closing her eyes and savouring the sensation of the rivulets touching and caressing her body with its liquid warmth. Sarah sighed in sheer enjoyment and started humming an idle tune. She was so engrossed in bathing herself that she did not notice that the bathroom had been quietly opened and then closed.

Sarah yelped in surprise as she felt a pair of muscular arms encircle her nude body and draw her close to the equally bare and now-dripping wet form of her lover. She could feel his penis stir and harden when it encountered her buttocks and Smith’s arm drew her completely against him until their bodies seemed fused as one.

“Smith! You nearly gave me a heart attack!” she scolded him lightly. She was about to turn around and look at him but he prevented her with gentle resistance. “Don’t turn around,” he said, his lips touching her ear, his hot breath sending shivers racing up and down her body.

“Why not?” she whispered.

“Shh. I don’t want you to say anything; just enjoy what I’m going to do to you. Just do what I say and I guarantee you will not be disappointed. Do you understand? Remember, don’t say a word.”

Sarah nodded her head, her body tingling with anticipation and eagerness to see where this situation was going to lead. She allowed herself to be guided to the wall of the shower. “Brace yourself against the wall with your hands,” he instructed quietly, “as if you were about to be searched.”

Sarah did as she was told without a word, but she was growing increasingly puzzled as to his intentions. She heard Smith groan with pleasure as he pressed up against her body again; his hands roaming freely over her flesh with increasing desire as one hand caressed her breast while the other reached between her legs. Smith chuckled with amusement when he felt the wetness there. “The oldest weapon known to mankind,” he intoned softly to himself. He pinched Sarah’s nipples until they were hard and erect, ignoring her sharp moan of desire.

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He took her from behind so that Sarah’s cheek was pressed against the cold tile of the shower wall, each thrust eliciting a groan out of Smith as he revelled in abusing this too naive and far too trusting young woman whose only crime was her innocent association with his oldest enemy. A sharp and intense thrill of pleasure coursed through him; the situation of taking a woman from behind was so reminiscent of his first encounter with Bronwyn on the interrogation room table that without any warning, Smith found his mind replaying the sensations and feelings he had experienced on that occasion. The smell of Bronwyn’s skin, the way it felt as he brutally raped her, was brought back with such exactitude that if he closed his eyes, he could almost imagine that time had turned backward. Almost.

The illusion was ruined when he felt Sarah counterthrust against him. Bronwyn had not done that; she had remained completely still as he violated her.

“Stay still!” he hissed, frantic to hold on to the illusion of one of his most pleasurable memories. Tempering his voice to a calmness he was far from feeling, he continued. “Let me do everything.”

Now, as in the previous night, the sound of his voice aroused her more than what he was doing. Every nerve in her body, every fibre of her being wanted to move, to be able to participate fully in this rather unorthodox location for a passionate tryst, but she obeyed despite her own personal misgivings. Why does he want me to just stand here and not move, she wondered. Why did he get so angry with me just now? Is there something he is not telling me, something in his past experiences with women that could explain his behaviour?

Still remembering his instruction, Sarah bit her lip and tried her best to suppress a moan as desire surged through her system. Despite her efforts, a small whimper penetrated Smith’s hearing and in his current state, his mind registered the sound as an indication of pain. Without any warning, he pulled himself out of Sarah and turned her over so that she faced him and pressed her back against the wall before continuing to pump into her. He heard her quickened breathing against his cheek and he ran his lips down her neck; sinking his teeth into the tender flesh, causing Sarah to gasp at the dual feeling of arousal and pain. Unable to obey his expressed wish to remain completely still, she raked her nails down his back in her throes of passion. He groaned in pleasure as he felt her vaginal walls contract and expand around his penis as she climaxed.

He shut his eyes tightly to vanquish the sight of Seraph’s sister in front of him and concentrated on bringing Bronwyn’s face to his mind’s eye. His climax was only a few strokes away and he plunged into her harder and faster, desperate to come now before Sarah was tempted to say or do anything that would ruin his moment at this most crucial time. He pinned her body to the wall with the weight of his own, taking his hands from her hips, grasping her wrists and forcing them over her head. Sarah cried out in surprise and pain and that was all he needed to reach his own orgasm. Growling like an animal or a savage beast, he clenched his teeth together while his body shuddered and shook with the intensity of his climax.

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“That was wonderful,” Sarah murmured, her lips against his cheek. She tried to kiss him but Smith turned his face away and left her in the shower without saying another word to her. Hot scalding tears of hurt and shame prickled at the corners of her eyes and Sarah sat down in the shower, her back huddled against the same cold tile wall that Smith had taken her against. First, he calls out that woman’s name last night, and just now, he could not even bear to look at me. Why? Why does he do things to show he cares about me like what he did to those two old cats in the elevator at the restaurant who insulted me about my clothes, she remembered, then turn around and hurt me, when he left me in the street?

But maybe all he needs is time; time to grieve and heal, she thought, feeling a flicker of hope. If I am patient and give him the love and attention he seems to be missing, it might, just might help him get over Bronwyn and he will be open to love me instead. However, even Sarah’s pride could not overlook the fact that it was only after Smith discovered who her brother was, that he wanted to become romantically involved with her in the first place. Until that time, he was distant but still courteous; however, it was not until after she told him how she was attached to Seraph that his attentions abruptly turned from emotional to physical.

Well, I can’t stay in here forever, she thought to herself, I’ve got to be getting home; and after what just happened, I guess I shouldn’t expect him to drive me back, I will just have to get there on my own. But not yet.

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“Are you sure that was wise, just leaving her like that?” one of Smith’s selves asked him.

Smith frowned and looked at the perfect mirror image of himself. “What do you mean? Explain yourself.”

“It is my understanding that after having intimate relations with a man, a woman usually wants some sort of reassurance that her lover’s interest hasn’t dwindled because of her capitulation. If you wish to continue to have sexual relations with her, then perhaps you should make some kind of amends for brushing her off this morning.”

“What are you suggesting I do, send her flowers or something?” Smith said with a sneer.

The clone shrugged. “It is not my place to say.”

“Normally I would agree, but for the sake of argument, I’m allowing you to say. Tell me. Besides,” Smith pondered, cocking his head as he looked at this copy of himself, “you were a woman before I took you over. Perhaps you can give me some insight into how the female mind works in situations like this.” Smith sat down and crossed his arms, waiting for his other self to continue. “Well?”

“Perhaps it would be best if, once she gets out of the bathroom…” continuing with what he thought would be the best solution for his superior self.

Smith listened to what his duplicate had to say and nodded his head in agreement. It was a good idea, he thought and issued an instruction to another one of his clones. Be here as soon as you can, he specified, I do not have much time.

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When Sarah finally emerged from the bathroom, she was surprised to find Smith leaning against the doorframe with a long stemmed red rose in his hand.

“For you,” Smith said, extending the hand that held the perfectly shaped blood-red bloom to her.

“What--”Sarah was about to ask the reason for this, but the rose was crushed between their bodies when Smith drew her to him without warning as his lips ground against hers. Sarah whimpered in anticipation and she eagerly surrendered herself up to his kiss.

Still, as Sarah’s body yielded yet again to the passion of Smith’s lovemaking, the small seed of doubt that had been planted in her mind after his earlier mistreatment of her began to grow and flourish.

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When Sarah arrived at her apartment an hour later, she was surprised to see Seraph waiting for her in her living room. “What do you want?” she demanded coldly. “Did you come here to lecture me again?”

“No Sarah. I’m here to take you to see the Oracle.”

“But I don’t want to see her. What could she have to say that I could possibly be interested in hearing?”

Seraph took her hand and held it in his own. “Do it for me. Please?” he asked, and Sarah could see sincerity and silent pleading in his eyes. He had never asked a lot from her during all the time they had known one another and it obviously meant a lot to him if she agreed to his request. In the end, Sarah did not have the heart to refuse. “All right. I’ll go.”

Seraph breathed a sigh of relief. If anyone could set Sarah on the right path, it would be the Oracle.

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Sarah said nothing on the way despite several attempts by her brother to get her to say something, anything was better than the frigid silence that now existed between them. However, Sarah’s faraway manner had nothing to do with Seraph, but Smith’s behaviour and her own reservations about his feelings towards her.

“Leave us alone, Seraph,” the Oracle commanded, her eyes fixed on Sarah’s face. “This is just between us girls.” The Oracle waited until he had left before speaking to her visitor.

“So, you and Smith are lovers,” she said resignedly. Sarah said nothing and the Oracle could not help noticing Sarah’s preoccupied expression and distracted manner. The older woman repeated her statement but received no response. Irritated, she rose and went to the kitchen and returned with a glass of water and threw it in Sarah’s face. Sputtering, Sarah looked in shock and anger at the Oracle.

“Now that I have your attention, we can finally talk,” she said, the beginnings of anger giving a bite to her words. “How was he?”

“Wonderful,” Sarah said, her lips curving into a slight smile as she remembered the passion she had experienced earlier that morning as well as the night before. But even so, Sarah was not able to entirely hide her misgivings and she knew very well that her mother had noticed.

“I’m glad he actually took the time to make sure you were pleased. Most women don’t receive that honour from him; usually, he just rapes them and when he’s finished, he forgets about them.”

“He has never raped a program,” Sarah countered angrily. “He told me that himself.”

“Rape is rape, no matter if the woman is human or one of us; it’s still a brutal violation of a woman’s body and mind.”

“Why should I care what he did to those other women? They were only human—weak and meaningless.”

The Oracle sighed in exasperation and barely concealed annoyance. “When you say things like that, you are even beginning to sound like Smith. I have always tried to raise my children to be tolerant and accepting of the humans who share our world, but I’ve failed miserably with you, it would seem. He will hurt you as well, Sarah. Whether it be physically or emotionally, he will hurt you. And after he does and you finally see what kind of man he really is, don’t come crying to me because I will not help you.”

Sarah shrugged. “I don’t care.”

Oh, but you will care, I’ve seen it, the Oracle thought to herself. You will care a great deal and neither Seraph nor I will be able to help you. You will be in a hell of your own making and it will destroy you in the end.

“He doesn’t love or even care about you, Sarah. Listen to me,” the older woman demanded, taking Sarah’s chin in her hand and looking into her eyes. “Smith’s intentions with you are not honourable. If you continue to associate with him, he will destroy you. His destiny is to try to destroy not only our world, but Zion as well.”

“I don’t care about the humans or Zion, Oracle,” Sarah snapped, jerking herself out of her grasp. “I’ve heard all about the so-called prophecy and I just don’t give a shit. I only care about staying ahead of the upgrades and Smith is my best chance for survival. Seraph can’t, or should I say won’t protect me; he is too busy guarding you to give a damn about what happens to me, anyway. Smith, on the other hand, does care. He won’t let anything happen to me,” Sarah finished, her voice ringing with confidence.

“There is more to a meaningful relationship than just sex, Sarah,” the oracle said. Sarah looked in surprise at the Oracle and was surprised to see a fleeting smile dance across the older woman’s face, deepening her dimples. “Oh, yes, I know all about sex. I may be what some call a soothsayer, but I am also a woman, too. I’ve had my share of intimate encounters the same as you.” The smile disappeared from her face and she became serious. “That is what Smith only needs you for now. You know it as well as I. Once you showed him where he could see Neo, your usefulness to him ended and he will only seek you out when he needs a woman in his bed. Tell me, how many times during sex did he call you by her name?”

“None,” Sarah lied valiantly, not meeting her mother’s gaze. Sarah’s lower lip trembled and she lowered her head.

“Come here, child,” the Oracle said quietly and opened her arms. It was invitation enough. Sarah gladly and gratefully embraced her mother and let her tears flow. “And even this morning, when we—well, you know, he treated the whole thing as if it was someone else that he wanted to be with, not me!” Sarah kept to herself what had followed after he had given her the rose. She knew he meant it as a conciliatory gesture, but deep in her heart, Sarah did not buy it. He probably only got me that rose so he could fuck me again and he still has never mentioned my name during sex, she thought to herself morosely. Her heart gave a painful lurch and in her utter despair, Sarah clung more tightly to her mother.

“I know, Sarah, I know it hurts and I’m sorry you have to feel pain like this,” the Oracle said, laying her cheek on Sarah’s hair. She refrained from saying anything further. Her young guest desperately needed a shoulder to cry on, not a lecture. She stroked her hair, murmuring heartfelt words of comfort and solace, her own heart felt ready to break. I will always be here for you, the Oracle thought to herself, despite what I said to you earlier. When one of my daughters needs me, I will never turn her away.

“He made love to me, but he called out that woman’s name! She was only a human! What did she have that I don’t?”

“First of all, Sarah, he did not make love to you; he only had sex with you. There is a big difference between the two but that doesn’t matter now. Bronwyn was carrying his child. Once he found out that he was going to be a father, it affected him in ways the Architect and I had never foreseen. The fact that he could even produce offspring never occurred to us; he wasn’t programmed for it. However, it happened anyway. And the fact that the child’s mother was a human…” She shook her head.

“Would his child have been able to survive if she had been born? Could she even have passed as a human?”

The Oracle nodded her head sadly. “Yes, but her life would have been very difficult. A half-human, half-program hybrid would never have been accepted in our world, once word got out about her parentage. She would have been scorned, shunned. It was for the best, really, that she did not live.”

“How can he still love this woman so much? Can’t he get it through that big forehead of his that she is dead and she is never coming back?” Sarah wailed in desperation. “Why can’t he love me?”

Sarah’s despair wrenched her mother’s heart and she sought to console her grieving child the best way she could. “I don’t know why he felt the things he did for Bronwyn. Perhaps it was only because she spurned him and that only made him want her more than he would if she had given herself to him. Whatever it was about her, she has him by the heart to this day. And when Bronwyn killed herself before his very eyes, it scarred him as well.” She stroked her daughter’s hair. “Forget about Smith, Sarah, and concentrate on the one that truly loves you.’

“Seraph?”

“Yes. Seraph. He is kind and gentle; he will love you the way you deserve. Give him a chance.”

“But he’s my brother…”

“No, Sarah, he is not your brother in any sense of the word. You are only saying that because you grew up with him and have never looked at him in any other way. I know you see him as a friend, but sometimes friends can be lovers as well. For once, try to see Seraph as a man and not as your brother. I think you will like what you find.” She smiled to herself when she felt Sarah nod her head against her breast. “That’s my girl. Now dry your tears and give some thought to what I said. If you stay with Smith, he will only hurt you.”

But I know what will happen when you see Smith again, the Oracle thought. You will not be able to tell him no. I cannot say that I blame you; I was a young woman once too, and when it came to men, I didn’t always use my best judgment either. I predict great pain and heartache for you, Sarah, the Oracle thought. But, she thought as her lips curved in a smile, I predict--for however brief a time it may be--great joy for you as well.