Life keeps handing Tyler bitter treats. At fifteen, his mom leaves him and his little sister to fend for themselves. At sixteen, he focuses on receiving a soccer scholarship to gain the security and independence he so desperately craves. At eighteen, his car spins off a bridge, and he loses his leg and the sports career he fought so hard to build. Consumed by bitterness and despair, Tyler returns to college. The one taste of sweetness in his life is Robin Erie, the shy student-tutor assigned to help him catch up. They bond over textbooks and treats, and studying soon turns to flirting, which evolves to kissing. But when bitter forces try to tear them apart, Tyler must face his fear of getting abandoned once again to find happiness with his sweet crush. *** This is a mirror story to my previous story Sweet Little Birds, telling the story from Tyler's POV, also including snippets of his story before he met Robin.

Robin doesn't want to be a tutor. Tyler doesn't want to be tutored. So why are their tutoring sessions always running late? *** After an illness-stricken childhood, Robin Erie struggles to free himself from his mother's suffocating embrace. Her plan for him is clear: he's to excel in school, take over his late father's business, and marry a suitable girl of her choosing. Initially, college life offers nothing different from Robin's controlled and monotonous existence. Not until he meets Tyler Caster, a former soccer prodigy who struggles with restraints of his own after an accident took his left leg and made him crutch-bound. Tyler's sweet smile makes Robin dream of freedom and excitement. Through a string of candy-filled tutoring sessions, Robin and Tyler grow close. Very close. Perhaps they're even flirting? Robin isn't sure, but he wants to find out. But he knows he can't let his mother find out about his bond with Tyler, since Robin has started to suspect that her influence over him might be more nefarious than he previously suspected. Will Robin be able to break free from his mother's shackles to explore his budding feelings for Tyler?