Last winter, during a January marked by both voluntary and involuntary shutdowns of Washington, DC, I went to a large room at 26 Federal Plaza in lower Manhattan to swear allegiance to a government that at the time was having trouble staying open for business. With about fifty other people from a broad swath around the globe, I walked in a citizen of another place and walked out an American. There were several Chinese people like myself in the group, but I was the only Canadian.

We all came out waving little flags, and the friends that had come down, braving truly mountainous snowpiles, clapped and cheered and hugged us. My sister and her lover were there, and my David was there. We all hugged fiercely. I admit to letting a tear or two get squeezed out of my eyes.

"Deedee, how can you get sentimental about who you pay your taxes to?"

I hid my face in the crisp white cotton of David's shirt, trying not to cry on his expensive silk tie.

"Thank you, Tammy, for being so understanding. Always the empathetic one."

"Don't tell me you're bought in on all that chauvinistic Reagan era crap!"

I was thinking about Hong Kong, and all the stories our parents had told me about the Communists that they had fled from. The people and places I had last seen in childhood, given over to a government that had no concept free speech, consent of the governed, the right to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.

"It's not crap that you can stand in the middle of a government building and say what you like about it, and not worry about the consequences."

John took Tammy's hand. "Can we like, not do this scene? I'm supposed to take these really nice pictures of you two smiling and waving those little flags and shit, so you'se can send them off to your parents with this nice note about how happy you are, and don't worry about us here in New York, etc. Let's just forget about this, and you two stand over here by the thingie on the wall..."

He pointed to the Great Seal of the United States.

"Yeah, like that, one on each side so you cover up the graffiti. Great."

He raised his camera and started shooting. We forced our biggest smiles and held up our little flags and waved them. The tension drained away as he posed us, singly and in groups, in front of various icons of Americana.

We bundled back up and went out. John took some more pictures outside Federal Plaza. Tammy and I threw snowballs at each other, and he took pictures of that, too. We walked down Broadway, past the glowering bronze statue of a bull that is one half of Wall Street's symbology, past the wonderful old Customs House, into Battery Park. Raw wind whipping across the bay, we stood for a while looking at the Statue of Liberty. John took more pictures, until threats against his life, limb and camera allowed us to retreat from the waters' edge.

We descended into the Bowling Green subway station, and plotted our next moves. David and I were both in business suits, so we were going home to Brooklyn to change. Tammy had decided that she wanted ice cream, but it had to be from the Baskin Robbins near their apartment, so she was pulling a reluctant John uptown.

"So where are we going to meet you for your citizenship dinner, MacDonalds?"

"Fuck off, Tammy. We're going someplace nice, someplace that stands for everything that is uniquely American."

"Such as?"

"Chinatown."

"Oh, god. Let me guess, Golden Unicorn or Peking Duck House?"

"Uh, I was thinking of both, actually." Nothing is as American as excess.

"You are one crazy little Chinese girl, you know that! How am I supposed to fit in my clothes if I go eat dim sum and duck with you?!"

"Go work out instead of eating ice cream. Buy bigger clothes. I don't care. You're too thin, anyway."

Tammy smirked. "You only think so because I'm thinner than you. OK, we'll let you have your way. But if they have to take you down in the freight elevator from the Golden Unicorn, don't say I didn't warn you."

Tammy and John departed uptown, and David and I rode the number 4 train into Brooklyn. Brooklyn was completely plowed in, cars buried under mountains of snow, streetcorners made impassable by walls of snow and wide lakes of slush. We detoured up side streets to find spots where people had dug out their cars or driveways had been cleared, then doubled back, walking in the street.

I closed and locked the door to our apartment. Sitting on the little bench seat by the door I pulled my boots off. David stood and peeled the rubbers off his shoes.

"You know I always think you look sexy in that button-down outfit."

"Well, sorry to disappoint you, but I have to take it off."

He pulled me off the bench and kissed me hard on the lips. His hands pulled up the skirt behind me, then slid across my ass cheeks, pressing me against him. Kissing him on tiptoe, I could feel his erection against my belly.

"I mean you look really sexy in that outfit."

"So sexy you have to fuck me even before I can take it off?"

"Overpoweringly sexy."

"Now that I'm a citizen, don't I get a vote on the subject?"

"You'll have to hold an erection to vote on that."

"Planning on stuffing the ballot box, are you?"

By this point he had maneuvered me onto the couch and pulled my sheer nylons and panties down around my ankles. I pulled his erection out of his pants and played with him a little in my hands.

"So, you look at these starched and pressed women in their corporate suits, and you wonder what their ass looks like, eh?"

I pulled his pants down and sat him on the couch. Kicking my panties off my ankle, I straddled him. His cock rubbed against the warm skin along the inside of my thigh, tickling my pubic hair. I felt butterflies of anticipation.

"You can't say 'eh' any more. You're not a Canadian."

"In that case I guess I'll have to use your All American flagpole and let my red hot pussy tease some white come out of those blue balls of yours."

"Or you could just fuck me."

"Isn't that what I said?"

I took some spit and slicked the head of his cock. He slid easily into the wet folds of my cunt. I pressed myself downwards, taking him into me greedily. He felt huge inside me. As I came down with him fully inside I whimpered a little from the pleasure of feeling so filled, so tight around his stiffness. We looked into each other's eyes and kissed. We rocked a little back and forth, fully engaged. I could feel his balls against my skin.

His hands opened my jacket and sought out my nipples through my blouse and bra. They were obvious, even through all the layers. His fingers pinched at them, and my hips twitched in response. He pulled the shirt tails of my blouse out and pushed the fabric up, not bothering to unbutton it. When he reached my bra he slipped his fingers under the straps and pushed the cups up and off my breasts, not bothering to unhook the clasp.

I suddenly felt very erotic. I was disheveled, half undressed, exposed. My dark wool skirt covered my legs demurely, and at the same time I was pantyless, legs spread wide, filled by the presence of his cock. My hair was still tightly braided and my glasses were starting to slide down my nose as we kissed. His hands were warm as they cupped my breasts, even as the last snowflake melted behind my ear.

I felt the need to feel him moving in and out of me. I began to raise my self up and then lower myself again onto his cock. He locked my nipples between his fingers so that when I lifted my self up, my nipples pulled between his fingers, stretching my skin taut. He pinched at the same time, and then as I came sliding back down his cock, he mashed my nipples into my breasts, pressing them inwards until I was sure he could feel my ribs. I felt a continuous electric tingle of pleasure as he exercised my breasts.

I knew that as good as I was feeling, David loved getting fucked this way even more. The pressure of my whole body forcing my slippery tight pussy down around his cock was something he couldn't hold out against for long. It gave me an additional warm glow inside, every time we made love this way, knowing that he was absolutely helpless to control his reaction as I fucked him. He would come so quickly I was reminded of the eager adolescent orgasms of my high school boyfriends, how quickly they exploded in my hand or mouth or between my legs.

Indeed, it was very soon that as I eased myself down he was thrusting up, meeting me halfway, freezing me in midstroke as his own need to thrust overcame him. I held myself still, trying to be the perfect receptacle, my clinging hot walls velvety smooth, ready for his final thrust deep into me and the shuddering deposit of his come inside of me.

I cradled his head against my chest as his orgasm subsided. I rode him a few more times for my own pleasure, enjoying the extra slippery feeling of his cock lubricated with his come. Settling down on his shaft again, I kissed him deeply, as deep as he was inside of me.

My clothes were growing uncomfortable. I shucked off the wool jacket. Temporarily, I pulled my blouse down again so that I could unbutton it. I unhooked the clasp of my bra and tossed it aside. Reaching behind me, I found the button of the skirt behind my back, undid it and unzipped the skirt. I pulled it over my head and put it on the pile with the jacket and blouse.

Still holding his cock tightly inside me, I undressed David as well. He offered no complaints or resistance, seemingly too overpowered by his orgasm to have regained consciousness.

"Well, now that we're both naked, sweaty and sticky, how about a nice hot shower?"

He looked up at me with a bemused expression on his face.

"Eh?"

"No more Canadian jokes! Come on, or I'll wash by myself and make you wait."

I lifted myself off him and our private parts reluctantly separated. The shower included an appropriate amount of romantic afterplay, but neither of us was up to getting serious again so soon. Besides we were meeting Tammy and John in Chinatown in just an hour and a half.

I got dressed in warm corduroy pants that I could tuck into my boots. I picked my warmest angora sweater, a thick black vee neck that looked really nice with the little string of pearls that David got me for my last birthday. I was pulling it over my head when I felt him behind me, his hands tracing the edge of my bra.

"Now, now, no monkey business. I've got to get finished getting dressed."

He unhooked the clasp.

"Hey! I mean it!"

"Well, I hate to say it, but I think you're just a tad overdressed for the occasion. Take your arms out of that sweater and you'll see what I mean."

I complied, and he quickly slipped the bra off of my breasts. Feeding my arms back into the sweater, he pulled it down over my body and pulled my hair free of the neck. The clinging black sweater immediately warmed my skin. My nipples rose as the angora kissed them endlessly, every time I shifted. His hands cupped my breasts again as I sighed. I leaned back against him and kissed him over my shoulder. His hands moved slowly around my breasts, sliding the lush angora over my skin. Our kiss deepened. His fingers sought my nipples through the sweater and found them, swollen and hard.

"Now doesn't that feel good?"

"Very good. Too good. It feels so good I want to take off the cords and drag you to bed."

"Then just think about doing that after we come home from dinner. And every time I look at you across the table I'll think about it, too."

It was already dark by the time we got to the Golden Unicorn. Tammy and John were upstairs, waiting for us before getting seated. Tammy still had her jacket on, saying the elevator brought in too much cold air to take it off before we arrived. We all sat down around a table for four, men and women sitting across from each other.

I looked Tammy over. She was wearing black boots, black tights, a black skirt, and a white silk shell. Her shoulders and arms were bare except for the thin strap of the shell.

"Brrr, I'm still frozen." Tammy shivered in her seat. Goosebumps crawled up her arms. From the dark nipples poking against the silk, it was obvious that she was not wearing a bra.

"You should have worn more sensible clothing."

"It was your party, so I wore party clothes."

"Hey, check out those dumplings!" John's head swiveled to track a cart of delicacies being wheeled past.

"Where?" Tammy was half out of her seat, leaning over the table. Her little silk shell fell away from her chest and her beautiful (even I'll admit they're beautiful) tits swung in full view. At least from my perspective they were in full view, and judging from the gasping sounds from behind me they were in full view of someone who had been trying to take a drink.

"Those dumplings look great!" David was looking past Tammy at the dim sum cart.

I got up.

"Please, don't wait for me. I just remembered I have to make a phone call."

I stalked over to the phone. First I dialed our home answering machine.

"Listen mister. Don't you dare spend the evening oogling my sister. I don't care how brazen she is, there's only one pair of tits for you tonight. And there won't even be that if you keep staring at hers."

I hung up and dialed his beeper number and left our phone number as the message.

When I got back to the table, everyone had at least two items already, and beer, too. I sat down and Tammy gave me a little smirky smile and wiggled her fingers at me.

"I took your advice and worked out instead of having ice cream."

"No wonder John looks so tired." Tammy's idea of working out probably involves doing pussy squats onto John's cock.

"Deedee, could you pass the mustard?"

"John was up too late last night playing Wing Commander IV. I swear they should make a game called Come and Get Me, that would convince guys to pay attention to their girlfriends. It would show this guy in a dark bedroom playing by the light of the monitor, while in the background the girl lies on the bed and frigs off about a million times. I'm gonna write a story about it."

David piped up, "There are adult video games in Japan. As a matter of fact..." His beeper went off.

"Shit. If you'll excuse me." He got up and headed for the phone.

"So, Deedee, what are you writing about nowadays?"

"Well, I showed you the last chapter of Edit Angel that I finished. I think I'm going to go back to erotica for a while. I've got a few ideas that I have to get out of me."

"How do you think this stuff up?" John asked from around the edge of a shrimp filled pastry.

"Most writers keep a notepad next to their bed in case they wake up with an idea. Deidre just hits rewind on a video camera."

John smiled. "If only there was such a thing. Think of the money we could make with a DeeDeeCam web site."

"If you two are finished having fun at my expense, I'd like to try to answer John's question. I like to start with a single arresting image of a sex act and work outwards."

"But how do you come up with the original idea?"

"I told you, she hits rewind."

I admit it. I stuck my tongue out at her.

"Maybe you do, Tammy. It helps to think about sex constantly. For me, it's usually something like I'm standing in the back of a crowded elevator at work and that little bounce as the car comes to a stop at each floor makes my boobs feel funny and all of a sudden I'm speculating about the erotic possibilities of a bidet."

"So, you just come upon it?"

"The bidet?"

When I said bidet Tammy started to blush, and then she smiled, and then she blushed some more. Her nipples became evident again through her shell.

David sat down again.

"Well, where were..."

Tammy stood up. Her face was still red. She lifted one arm and pointed at me across the table.

"I'm going to the ladies room. And you're going with me."

John and David exchanged glances over the table as we stood up. Tammy stalked off and as I followed her, I heard John mutter. "Uh, oh."