Chapter 690

Juniper let out a heavy sigh, rubbing her temples. "Seriously, can we not talk about it? Just drop it, okay?"

Ronnie saw she wasn't budging and threw in the towel. "Fine, fine. If you won't spill, I'll just have to cheer you up. Got any idea how to make someone happy?"

"I don't drink," Juniper shot back.

Ronnie rolled his eyes. "You think booze is the only way to make a girl happy? Come on, give me some credit. I'm not talking about getting wasted. There are other ways."

Juniper shook her head. "Do I look like I'm in the mood for jokes right now?"

"Juniper, do you really think all I do is crack jokes and drink? How low is your opinion of me?" Ronnie said, half-laughing, half-crying. "I'm talking about some adrenaline-pumping high-altitude games. It'll get your mind off things."

Juniper wasn't having it. "Nah, forget it."

"Chicken?"

"It's not that," Juniper said. "Those high-altitude games are a snooze fest for me. They'd put me to sleep."

Ronnie was impressed. "Alright, then. I've got another idea."

"I just wanna go home," Juniper insisted.

"If you go home now, you'll just stew in your own misery. Trust me, you won't regret this," Ronnie promised.

Juniper braced herself for something wild, knowing Ronnie's unpredictable nature. But to her surprise, he took her to an automatic baseball batting cage.

Ronnie handed her a bat. "You know how to use this?"

"Are you kidding? I was swinging bats when I was eight," Juniper replied.

"That's my girl! Let's do this. Sweat it out, and you'll feel a lot better," Ronnie said, giving her a thumbs up.

"Alright, let's go," Juniper agreed, ready to blow off some steam.

The baseballs started flying out, and Juniper swung like a madwoman.

She imagined each ball was Mira, smashing them with all her might.

'Take that, you backstabbing witch! Framing me? Not on my watch!' Juniper thought.

Ronnie watched, eyebrows raised in awe.

For someone so slim, Juniper packed a punch.

He couldn't help but think, 'Man, if I ever piss her off, I'm toast.'

But this was good. Better to let it out than keep it bottled up.

"Harder! Come on! Give it your all! Again!" Ronnie cheered her on.

Juniper kept swinging until she was completely spent, her hands too weak to lift the bat. She plopped down on the ground, panting, sweat dripping off her chin.

'Man, sweating it out feels amazing! It doesn't fix everything, but I feel way better, not so bottled up. So satisfying!' Juniper thought.

"Feeling better?" Ronnie asked, handing her a sports drink.

"Thanks," Juniper said, unscrewing the cap and chugging it down.

Nothing tasted better than water after a workout. One gulp and it felt like heaven.

She was still catching her breath.

"Feeling better?" Ronnie asked again.

"Way better."

"Dry off. Don't wanna catch a cold," Ronnie said, handing her a towel.

Ronnie thought, 'That's my girl. Even the way she wipes her sweat is beautiful. Her flushed face makes her even more stunning.'

His eyes had a mind of their own, glued to her, unable to look away.

He just wanted her to be happy.

Juniper glanced at Ronnie. "Thanks. You're really sweet and would make an awesome friend."

Ronnie immediately put on a hurt puppy face. "If I'm so good to you, why are you treating me like this?"

"Treating you like what?" Juniper was confused.

"I wanna be with you, but you just wanna be friends. Isn't that like biting the hand that feeds you? It really breaks my heart," Ronnie said, looking all heartbroken.

Juniper chuckled. Ronnie was always such a goof.

Juniper teased, "So if not friends, then what? Strangers?"

"No way. I'm dead set on marrying you."

Juniper sighed. "You should give up, Ronnie. It's for your own good. I'm cool with being friends, but that's it. I won't fall for you."

"How do you know?"

"I know myself pretty well," Juniper replied.

Ronnie shot back, "But you didn't think we'd be friends at first, right? You can't be so sure about everything. The only constant is change, including how you feel about me."

Juniper shook her head. "Even if I liked you, I wouldn't be with you. You don't give me any sense of security. You're like firewood, burning hot when you're into someone, but burning out just as fast."

Ronnie asked, "But if some other guy says he'll love you forever, do you really believe him?"

Juniper shook her head. "But you, even less so."

Ronnie retorted, "It's all the same. If there's everlasting love, great, I want that too. But there are too many variables in this world. I don't wanna lie to you, and you wouldn't fall for such lies, right?"

Juniper smiled. "Sometimes being too clear-headed isn't good, right?"

"Exactly, so why not just dive into a passionate fling with me, no strings attached? Not worrying about forever, just enjoying the moment. Otherwise, when you're old, you'll regret spending your youth so blandly."

Juniper teased, "You're so convincing, you should be in sales."

"Sure. I'm now selling a high-quality, handsome, girlfriend-pampering perfect boyfriend. Interested?"

Juniper replied, "Not interested."

"Why not? It's a great deal. If you miss it, it's gone, and you'll regret it."

"Alright, enough joking. It's getting pretty cold, let's go." Juniper stood up.

"Wait, let me put this on you." Ronnie draped his jacket over Juniper. "So thin, but still a great figure." He nodded.

Juniper said, "Where are you looking? Be careful, or I'll poke your eyes out."

"Not looking wouldn't be manly, right? Besides, I only look at good figures and am not interested in bad ones." Ronnie helped her tighten the jacket and continued, "Seriously, this is the first time I genuinely want a woman to be happy. I used to think as long as I was happy, it didn't matter what the other person felt. If I wanted to break up, I wouldn't care if the other person hurt themselves. To be honest, I used to be quite selfish. But now, I want you to be happy. Even more than my own happiness, I care about yours. Juniper, I don't know if this is love. I've had many women, but never tasted love. But I can tell you for sure that your every smile, even the slightest expression, tugs at my heart. I really like you. I want to be good to you and make you happy with all my heart and all my effort. I want to be the reason for your happiness."