“I’m not going to sleep with him,” Serena said. “But I am willing to suggest that I might, if he tells me what I want to know.”

“There’s no denying it’s a classic strategy,” Janet said.

“My way’s much more direct,” Laurel said. “Sex makes men talk.”

“Your way is complicated. Sloppy.”

“There’s nothing wrong with sloppy,” said Laurel. “How about this, I’ll go for it instead—with those arms I bet he’d take me halfway to transcendence in one go.”

“Stop,” Serena said. Her voice was suddenly icy, and the smirk melted off Laurel’s face. “You won’t touch him. I don’t want you to even think about him that way, Laurel. It could ruin everything we’re trying to do.”

“Why?” I said quietly. My popped knuckles were burning.

“We are trying to transcend our physical reality, not surrender to it,” she said. “Understand that the body is merely the foam of a wave, the shadow of a shadow, the Buddha said. Snap the flower arrows of desire and then, unseen, escape the king of death.” It sounded good, though later I would try to pull it apart and find nothing there. It wasn’t until the end of the summer, after everything, that I would finally understand what she meant.

“Sex is actually allowed in Buddhism,” Laurel said. “In fact, there is some direct connection between tantric practices and levitation. Didn’t Padmasambhava achieve it after spending a month in a cave doing nothing but fucking his consort?”

“Aren’t you the expert now,” Janet said.

“We all have our areas of interest,” Laurel said.

“It’s not about allowed,” Serena said. “And we’re not Padmasambhava. This is exactly why I don’t want you getting involved in this part. You’re not advanced enough.”

“Well, if you don’t need us at all,” Laurel said, “just say so.”

“I need you, dummy,” Serena said. “Everything I’ve read suggests a group is more powerful than a single practitioner. Just not for this part.”

“And what if your plan doesn’t work?” Janet said.

“Then I’ll make another,” Serena said. “I’ve prepared for multiple scenarios.”

“Desire is the root of all suffering, the Buddha taught,” Janet said.

“Desire is the root of all pleasure, too,” Laurel said. She was sullen now. She knew she had lost.

“Pleasure is also suffering,” Serena said. “Because it goes away. You know that. That’s why you’re here. Now, do we have an agreement?”

We had an agreement.