Channing finished off pruning his potted plants and walked back inside the apartment. He always felt good having tended to his garden, and made his way into the kitchen for a nice, ice-cold glass of water.
Max was busy on the laptop, and Channing was curious to see what had captured his attention…
‘Checking out some hot guys?’ Channing said, a knowing smile on his face.
‘Ha! No, nothing like that,’ Max replied. ‘You’re quite enough for me, young man.’
Channing poured himself a drink of water and loaded it with a bunch of ice cubes straight from the refrigerator. Walking toward Max, Channing could suddenly see that Max was on the Bark Buddies website.
Interesting.
Very…. Interesting.
Is Max looking for… a job?
However as Channing approached, a flustered Max suddenly clicked off the Bark Buddies website and instead started looking through some sports results from the previous evening.
‘Playoff time!’ Max said, attempting to distract Channing from what he had only moments ago been looking out.
‘Sure,’ Channing replied. ‘You know me though, I’m not really much of a sports guy. Not like that, anyway.’
Channing could see that Max was a little bit flustered. But why didn’t Max want Channing to know he was looking at jobs at Bark Buddies? Channing thought it was adorable and definitely a positive thing, so couldn’t understand why Max would feel so shy and secretive about it.
Whatever reasons Max had for being secretive, Channing decided he should respect them. There was nothing worse than trying to do something privately and then have someone stick their nose in and potentially disrupt it.
So rather than cramp Max’s space, Channing gave him a quick kiss and took his ice-cold glass of water over onto the couch. It was time to make some plans with Tommy and Rick…
Hey guys! Any plans for this evening? Max is out with his bros – who are both single by the way!!! I’ll be all alone. Do you guys feel like coming over for a movie and popcorn night? Let me know what you’re thinking. Channing XoXoXo
Channing reclined on the couch and began to casually scroll through his Instagram. He checked his notifications and saw that he had been followed by Kyle Peters from work. While it was always nice to get a new follower, Channing immediately felt a shiver run over his body.
It wasn’t good news to have Kyle following him. While in theory it could have been an attempt to build bridges and improve their relationship in work, Channing sensed that Kyle had other motivations.
Urgh.
Why does that guy have to be in my life?
If he expects me to follow back, he can forget it…
Channing had a quick look through the most recent updates on the Bark Buddies Instagram page. It was wonderful to see so many wholesome photos of the recent batch of dogs to have found their lovely new forever homes. It filled Channing with joy to see so many pups find new homes and human friends who would give them a great life.
Channing could definitely see the appeal of working at Bark Buddies. He was very happy at Green Sky Future and had no intention of leaving – even if Kyle was a pain in the ass.
But the thought of Max working at Bark Buddies was just incredible.
Channing could help Max with his job application, and put in a good word for him with the Bark Buddies management. It was such a no brainer! But Channing kept quiet and decided that Max would bring it up with him if he wanted to.
Casting his eyes over a photo of the totally adorable Tracker, Channing wondered when this hunk of canine delightfulness would find his forever home. Hopefully it wouldn’t be too long, but sometimes bigger dogs found it harder to be rehomed sadly.
Then in a burst of notifications, Channing received replies from both Tommy and Rick…
Hey! Movies and popcorn sounds superb to me, I’m IN! But… I call first choice in the movie? Oh, and how about we double down and order food in? There’s a brilliant new plant-based taco place I want to try. Tommy xxx
100%. Let’s do it. Movies, food, talking trash and having a great time. My kind of night in. We could each choose one movie each? Really make a night of it. Rick
Channing smiled. It was great to see that his friends were so enthusiastic to come over and hang out. Channing was glad that Max was finally connecting with his friends again, but atthe same time Channing knew that he would probably feel a bit lonely alone in the apartment for the first time in a little while.
Having Tommy and Rick over would be the perfect antidote to any feelings that Channing might have. He trusted Max, and knew that his friends would look after him, but the memory of Max’s wild, partying ways was still on Channing’s mind a little bit.
