The author literally claimed the way it (having her first time) supposedly fixes Ashes inability to open up to e.g. Delilah was the important part and therefore the scene was mandatory, I'm not kidding you.Yeah, sex in general wouldn't be a believable cure for severe mental health issues. Who would think it would be?
And romance? My assumption was there may be romance sprinkled around, but mostly the story would cover Ashe's sexual awakening. Romance may or may not be included.
Well the author also told me that Ashe had to loose her virginity to Zoey so that the romance with the actual Loveinterests could become a thing later down the line cause it fixes her insecurities to such a degree. Hence why I say the game uses dumb porn/12 year old horny teenager logic whenever it's convenient but otherwise takes itself way too serious for that to be on the table.