“Don’t you want to get married?” I asked him finally. We were parked outside the Echo Hot Dog Stand, The World’s Largest Drive-in. The place was a great favorite with Tech boys and their dates. On any given night we would see two or three couples we knew. Couples coupling in their cars, couples eating hot dogs and drinking Cokes, couples in varying stages of emotional excitement and disarray. I’ll say one thing for Malcolm and me, we were up to the task. We didn’t have enough guilt or depression between us to fill an ashtray. “Everyone’s running away,” I added, taking a Parliament out of a box and lighting it with the car lighter. “We wouldn’t have to tell anyone. We could keep it a secret.”

“I don’t know.”

“Why not? You love me, don’t you? Then we could rent a little apartment and have a place to do it. God, it’s driving me crazy not to have anywhere to do it.”

“Where would we go?”

“To South Carolina, where Avery and Mary Adair ran away. Ask Avery where they went.”

“They told their folks last week. They just moved into the married dorm.”

“We don’t have to tell anyone. I’ve got enough money to get us an apartment. Let’s do it. Please let’s do it.” I moved over to his side of the seat, put my hand on his leg, moved my hand up and down his thigh. “Oh, please, Malcolm. I want to have a place to live with you. I want it so much.”

“I don’t know. I guess so. I guess we could. When do you want to go?” He put his hot dog down on the dashboard and turned around to me. My hand was still on his leg. Now there wasn’t any hot dog or steering wheel or drive-in or car. There was only desire. I had to get some bonding energy to keep from thinking I was going to die and he had to get some pussy to keep from being in pain, so there we were, in love in Georgia, being bounced around like the electrons and protons of which we are in all probability composed.

“Next weekend. On Saturday. We could go on Friday and get married and spend the weekend. Oh, let’s do it. Say we can.”

“All right. If you really want to. If that’s really what you want to do.” He honked the horn for the waiter to come and take the tray from the window of the car. He put the half-eaten hot dog on the tray.

“I’ll have to get a wedding ring,” I said. “I guess we can go buy one tomorrow.”

“I guess we can.”

“Let’s go to Stone Mountain,” I added. “Let’s go do it on a blanket on the ground.”