Yay for background stories! You get to find out a little more about Tart's childhood in this one, as well as be introduced to a good friend of hers. And, surprise of surprises, he's a guy that she has never slept with! Shocking, I know! So, enjoy!

Tart belongs to me
Liam belongs to

---

Tart looked over her shoulder and waved good bye to her friend. She was just now leaving Ale’s apartment after enjoying a homemade meal and a good movie. Humming off key to herself, she started walking towards the stairs at the end of the hallway to make her way out of the building. A guy carrying a couple heavy looking boxes piled on top of each other was walking the opposite way. “Oh, excuse me,” Tart said, noticing him at the last minute before moving out his way, pressing her back against the wall, to give him more room to pass. She walked away from him without giving him further notice.

She was just about to head downstairs when she heard the male’s voice. “Tart?” he asked questioningly.

A little apprehensive, she was worried it might be a past lover she would have to deal with, Tart slowly turned back around to face the male. Her purple eyes took a moment to focus on him, memories from her childhood began to spring up. She would recognize that floppy-ear anywhere. “Liam?” she questioned, wanting to make sure.

The husky mix nodded his head in response. A toothy grin appeared on his muzzle. “It’s me,” he confirmed.

Tart smiled happily, excited to see her old childhood friend. She walked over to him, prepared to give him a hug, and then realized that his arms were full. “I’d give you a hug, but it wouldn’t be a very good one,” she said playfully.

Liam laughed. “Let me just set these down inside,” he said. He kicked open a slightly ajar door and walked inside. Tart followed him, silently making the connection that he walked into the apartment adjacent to the one belonging to her friend Ale.

“When did you get back in town?” she asked, looking around after she entered the apartment.

After setting the boxes down to join the many others on the floor, Liam said, “Just got here.” He chuckled slightly. “Let me look at you,” he said, twirling his finger around in a circle.

Tart laughed as she spun around. When she was done, she held her hands out at her sides, silently asking what her friend thought.

“Very nice. Love the shirt,” the grey husky stated.

Tart grinned as she glanced down at her shirt; it was white with the words I’m not short, I’m fun sized written in bright pink. She had it matched up with a pair of black yoga pants. “Thank you. And look at you. Moving boxes in dress slacks,” she said, walking over and picking at the material. She looked up slightly with only her eyes to stare at him.

“What? A man has to dress nicely if he wants to impress the ladies,” he said in his defense.

Tart just laughed before giving him a huge hug, her arms going around his neck. Liam’s arms went around her waist as he returned the hug. “It’s really good seeing you,” Tart said, closing her eyes at the feeling of familiarity that came over her.

“You too,” Liam returned. “Hey, I just have one more box to bring in and then I gotta park the moving truck. Wait here a few minutes?” he asked.

“Sure. I was just going home to watch TV by myself. I’ve got no other plans for tonight,” she replied.

“Great. I’ll see you in a bit,” Liam said, giving his friend a kiss on the forehead before he left the apartment.

With Liam gone, Tart started to wander around the apartment a little and look back on her past, something Liam was a part of, letting the memories take over for the time being.

Tart’s parents were relatively wealthy. Her father was a highly sought after plastic surgeon and with a very exclusive clientele. Clients had to be put on the waiting list months in advance. Meanwhile, her mother was a very talented costume designer. She worked on many top production films and socialized with the famous.

Tart never had any siblings. Her parents only wanted one child and only because they needed someone to carry on their legacy and fortune once they were gone. The five bedroom, two story house with two living rooms, a den, and a huge formal dining room that Tart had grown up in had always been full of maids, a personal chef, a housekeeper, and a security staff; as well as a weekly gardening crew. There were always plenty of people around, which almost made up for the lack of a sibling relationship.

She had gone to a public grammar school although it was still one of the best in the city. Tart didn’t have any problems making friends. When she was younger, she had plenty of close girl friends. She was then enrolled in a private middle school.

It wasn’t until Tart was fourteen that she started to take a real interest in guys. And as she started to mature and develop, guys took an interest in her as well. From that point on, she never lacked in the boyfriend department. Her mother almost immediately insisted that she be put on birth control. The scandal of her teenage daughter being pregnant would do a lot of damage to both her and her husband’s reputations.

Eventually, when she was a junior in high school, Tart was enrolled in a private, all girls school, in an attempt to get her away from all the guys she continued to see. Not that it really stopped her. She got really good about sneaking around and finding clever ways to meet up with her boyfriends.

Despite all that, Tart did her best to make her parents proud of her. She was a decent student with her grades. She participated in after school activities like dance and cheerleading. But her most important task as a daughter, as soon as she was old enough to be well behaved, was to stand around and socialize during all the functions and dinners her parents hosted or had to attend.

It would have been intolerable if not for the friend she made in the process, Liam. Like her, he was an only child, the trophy child that his parents showed off to all their well to do friends. Liam’s father was a brain surgeon and his mother a very powerful lawyer. Since their parents ran in many of the same circles, they often attended a lot of the same functions. Because of their shared home life, and having no siblings at home to play with, they became the most consistent people in each others’ lives of the same age, not counting the kids at school. In a way, they became brother and sister to each other.

Middle school was the first time Tart and Liam attended the same school. Since Liam was pressured into joining sports by his father and Tart was a cheerleader, they became even closer that way. Oddly enough, they never tried to date or get involved in a romantic way. There was one incident at a school dance where they had kissed. But it had been so awkward and strange for both of them that they never tried it again.

Tart’s mother approved the friendship between her daughter and Liam. Secretly, she hoped that they would eventually get married. Liam’s father put a lot of pressure on him to become a successful businessman and she wanted her daughter to be at his side. She saw Liam amassing a great wealth and her daughter would have all the material comforts she would need.

Sadly, it didn’t look like that would happen. As Liam reached high school, he became more and more rebellious. He resented the plans his parents had laid out for him, torn between creating his own destiny and wanting to please his parents. By that time, Tart had been transferred to the all girls’ school. The friendship she had with Liam started to fade as they now saw less of each other. But the bond between them still remained, although still not a romantic one.

Graduation came around. Liam went off to college in California to study business afterall, just like his father had wanted. Tart had no real plans for her life. She was done with school and had no interest in studying anything more. At this point, her mind was so full of sexual thoughts and all the pleasure she got from that. Instead of getting into the porn business, however, she chose to become a stripper, since dancing had been one of her passions during school.

As the years went by, Tart gradually lost contact with her friend Liam. They would chat every now and then. But eventually the conversations occurred less and less frequently. Tart’s mother would occasionally mention Liam and any news she had heard from his mother. Secretly, she still held on to the hope that they were meant to be married. Tart would listen but usually by the end of her visit Liam was out of her mind and she was thinking about who she would be spending her time with that night.

Now here they were, years later, and it was almost like no time had passed at all. She still felt as strongly bonded to him as she had been during their childhood. There was a smile on her face when Liam walked back into the apartment with his final box.

He took notice of the smile “What’s got you smiling so brightly?” he asked as he joined her in the box scattered living room and put down the one he was holding to join the others.

“I was just thinking about our childhood. Do you remember that time I was hiding from Freddy Macintosh at the party the Conways were having and ripped my dress?”

The husky mix chuckled in response. “Yes. He was dead set on kissing you, told everyone that you were going to be his wife. I used my jacket to help hide the rip in your dress and took you home.”

Tart smiled fondly. “Yeah. You were always such a gentleman.”

“It was drilled into me,” he answered. “So, how about I order some thai food and we can catch up?” he suggested.

“That would be great!” Tart exclaimed enthusiastically. Today was turning into a great day. She was getting to spend it with two really good friends of hers and enjoy their company.

The female corgi suggested which restaurant Liam should call, as it had been years since he had last been here to try the food, and he placed their order. They chatted casually while they waited for the food to arrive.

Once the food arrived and they were sitting side by side at the coffee table with glasses of wine, Liam turned his question a little more serious. “Please tell me that you aren’t still working at that club. What did you say the name of it was?” he asked.

Tart pushed some food around her place. “Paradise Purple,” she answered. “And I’m still working there.”

Liam’s nose wrinkled a little in a show of mild disappointment. He didn’t really like the profession Tart had chosen. He was a firm believer that she could do a lot better with her life. And he hated thinking of her surrounded by what he imagined as dirtball men trying to put their grubby hands on her.

The female was well aware of his feelings. But she appreciated that he only lightly expressed his disapproval before offering her his support. “I know you’ve never liked it. But I really do enjoy it. And the money is more than enough to help me get by. I rarely have to touch my trust fund,” she told him.

Bumping her with his shoulder, Liam gave her a slanted grin. “I still think you could do something better. But, as long as you are happy, that’s all that matters to me.”

Tart gave him a smile in return. “And what about you? Last I heard you were making a name for yourself in California. What brings you back here?”

“I got a job at the stock exchange. My father is so proud,” he said with just the slightest roll of his eyes.

Tart laughed slightly. “Well, as long as he’s proud,” she teased, nudging him now.

Liam gave her a playfully harsh look. “Hey, I am happy too, you know. Don’t give me that look.”

“Alright, fine,” she said, holding her hands up in surrender. “So, is there a girlfriend back in California waiting to pack up her things and join you here?” she asked, changing the topic.

His floppy ear bounced a little when Liam shook his head. “I haven’t dated anyone in a few months now. I knew I would be moving back here soon and didn’t want to break any hearts before leaving.”

“Oh, I’m sure you broke plenty,” the corgi teased.

“Just like you’ve probably broken several in the past week,” he teased back. “How many guys are you seeing now anyway?”

She couldn’t take offense to his question. He was well aware of her record with the opposite sex. “More than enough,” she answered evasively. “Although there’s one guy I’ve been seeing a lot of lately.”

Liam’s eyes lit up and his ears came forward at this news. “Oh really? Are there finally love birds in the air for you?”

Tart gave him a hard look. “You know I refuse to fall in love. Not since Rocko. It’s all just completely casual,” she insisted.

After studying her for a while, Liam decided not to press her any further. He remembered the situation with Rocko very well. He had already been in California going to school then. There were many nights he had stayed up late talking to Tart over the phone, listening to her cry and trying to comfort her as best as he could. His first instinct had to been fly back and stay with her. But Tart insisted that he stay in California and go to class.

There was a void in the conversation before Tart spoke again. “I have a roommate now,” she announced.

Liam chuckled. “I bet she’s just like you,” he said.

Tart shook her head. “Not really. She’s very quiet, keeps to herself mostly. Nowhere near as outgoing as I am. She’s very chilled out. But really awesome. I enjoy having her as a roommate. You two should meet sometime!” she suggested excitedly.

“If she’s your roommate I’m sure we’ll meet eventually,” Liam returned.

By now they had finished eating. Tart helped Liam clean up and put the leftovers away. Tart offered to help him unpack. As they removed items from boxes and put Liam’s belongings away, they continued to catch up for the past couple years, sharing hilarious stories and awkward sexual encounters. They had made a big dent in unpacking the boxes when they decided to call it a night.

“Want to help me finish this wine? Can’t leave a bottle unfinished once it’s been opened,” Liam jested, waving the bottle around in his hand.

Tart laughed at his playful antics. “If you insist,” she said almost immediately, not needing to think it over for very long.

They sat on the couch and lazily sipped from their glasses. Tart eventually leaned back over Liam’s lap, resting her head against his chest. She had spent the whole evening with him and it was getting late at night by this point. “I’m really glad you’re back,” she confessed. The wine was starting to take effect, making her eyelids heavy and sleep hard to fight off.

Liam situated himself so that they could both be comfortable, his arms going around the corgi so that he could hold her. “It feels good being back,” he replied. “Thanks for your help, and your company. Get some sleep, babe,” he added.

Tart mumbled something that sounded like “okay” already half asleep. An amused grin on his face, Liam closed his eyes as well. Within a matter of minutes, he was also asleep. He was back home and his world felt good again, like he had never left and this was where he was meant to be.