I came downstairs and went into the kitchen. Today was Valentine's Day, and well, it's okay. It's not as fun as Christmas or Halloween.

Walking into the kitchen, Dad asked, "How was your evening with Antonio?"

"Interesting," I answered as I grabbed some juice from the fridge. "I learned how to give Antonio pleasure."

Mom dropped a plate, Dad burned his hand, and my brothers started laughing.

Mom cleaned up the broken plate as Dad put his hand under cold water while looking at each other as Luke and Cole were still laughing.

"Okay, well, that's natural," Mom said, trying not to make a big deal out of it.

"I don't understand something. Why is it so sticky?" I said, making a face. My parent's eyes widened as Luke and Cole got up and left the kitchen, still laughing. "What are they laughing about?" I asked them.

"It's nothing. I'll talk to your brothers later. It's time we talked," Dad said to me. He turned off the stove, and we sat down at the table, talking.

I looked at them as they stumbled and stammered, telling me about sex. I didn't understand why this is a big deal. It's not like it needs to be. Antonio and I already talked. This talk is boring.

"Questions?" Dad asked me.

"Can I go now? This conversation is boring," I said to him.

He looked at me, surprised.

"Honey, you don't have questions," Mom asked me.

"No, Antonio already talked to me. Said he wouldn't do anything I didn't want to. I know about having a period and pregnancy. What else is there to know?" I got up from the table and left as they sat there, confused.

I honestly don't know why people have to talk about the same thing always. Isn't once enough? I guess not.

I returned a few minutes later, and they watched me. I poured my juice and turned to them. "I forgot my juice," with that, I left.

I knocked on Rain's door to pick her up and take her out for Valentine's Day. It opened, and the next thing I know, I'm getting the lecture from hell by her parents.

I sat there, listening to her parents talk to me about sex. Rain must have mentioned what happened at my house.

She came downstairs and walked over to us. "What's going on?"

"We're talking with Antonio," Colton replied.

"No, you're lecturing him over something we already discussed. Well, you discussed, I just sat there," Rain said to him.

"Rain," Colton said.

"I don't know what the big deal is. I'm not doing anything in public; it's in the privacy of a bedroom, and it feels good. You told me it's okay. So, why is this a big deal now?"

I just sat there. I was curious to know myself.

"Because being intimate with someone differs from without someone, and it is a big deal," Colton told her.

"But Antonio said he wouldn't do anything I didn't want to do. You told me if anyone did anything, I didn't want to tell you."

"That's correct," he agreed.

"Well, you asked how my night was. I told you. He did nothing I didn't want to do. And now you're lecturing about sexual intercourse. If you don't want to know, then why ask?" She looked at him.

I sat there looking at all of them. Colton and Lia were trying to figure out how to handle this. I don't think it prepared her parents for this. I know I wasn't.

"She's got the point," Lia said to him.

He looked at Lia, then at Rain. "Okay, I guess I should have clarified myself. When I asked how your night was, I just wanted to make sure you were okay and not upset. I didn't need to hear the other details."

She looked at him, "Okay, the next time, ask me if I had fun. Come on, Antonio," she said as I got up and made my way around them.

This attitude was the thing about Rain. Be specific, or it turns into this, a lecture about sex. With parents, I didn't need or want.

We got into the car, and I looked at her. "Can you do me a favor?"

She looked at me.

"Please never tell your parents if we do anything like what we did last night."

"But they said it's bad to keep secrets." She looked at me, confused.

"Yes, it is, but when two people do something personal, it should be between them and no one else. It's what they call privacy," I explained to her.

"Oh, okay," she said as I pulled out of the driveway and drove to a restaurant.

We pulled up and went inside. I did nothing fancy. I just kept it simple. I know Rain is picky about her food and called ahead to make sure they had things she liked. After ten places, I finally found one that had what she would eat.

The last thing I need to do is argue over food. Especially after the lovely conversation I had at her house with her parents.

We ate, then I took her to the place that had low lighting and wouldn't overstimulate her. We walked in, and she looked around. I took her to an art gallery. It was quiet and had low lighting.

She walked around and looked at everything until she stopped. She stared at it.

She looked at it as I stood there and watched her.

"It's me," she said in amazement.

"Yeah," I said.

"Who did this?" She asked me.

"I did," I said hesitantly.

She looked at it, then turned to me. "Why?"

"Because to me, you're beautiful," I said.

She turned back to it, "I love it."

I walked over to her and slid my arms around her waist from behind.

"I know it's not My Little Pony, but I wanted to do something special for you from me," I explained to her.

She turned to me, "I like My Little Pony, but I like other things too. Plus, I'm tired of My Little Pony." This comment surprised me.

"Yes, I do like something and like it for a while, but then I like other things. I have autism. I lack social skills. It doesn't mean I'm obsessive about things," Rain told me.

"So, why the big deal about My Little Pony?" I asked her.

"Because my family thinks it makes me happy. For a while, I liked it because they represent the one thing I lacked."

"What's that?"

"Friendship," she shrugged. Then I realized something about Rain. That's why she liked My Little Pony was because of what they represented. It's friendship without strings or judgment. Now she didn't need it because now she has friends.

"Don't tell Cole. I don't want him to feel bad for getting My Little Pony tattoo," she whispered. I had to chuckle at that.

I was learning something new with Rain every day. Every day I understood her world more. Every day, I was falling deeper and deeper in love with her.

Thinking back to that first day, we met when she was quiet, barely spoke, didn't make eye contact. Now, she did all those things and more. Funny how a straightforward pairing could make this happen.

All it took was one person. That's all she needed. I'm glad I was that person.