I know, I know, that sounds a little weird maybe, even to me! But it's true.
I wink at people (girls mostly) to say hello without saying hello, I think it's like a silent acknowledgement. Or say I'm across the room from my best friend Ellen and I catch her eye. Maybe we are sitting in a boring meeting, maybe she's in the middle of talking to someone "interesting," maybe I'm walking by and don't have time to talk. I wink at her and it's like the two of us are sharing something that no one else is a part. It's like we shared a silent secret. I could be saying "this meeting is so boring and I get that you are bored too" or I might be hinting mischievously "sooooo who is this that you are talking to??" Or it can just be a way to let her know I'm thinking about her at the moment when I can't or don't have time to talk.
So maybe I am reading a little too much into a wink. Maybe this is how I see things, but other people don't see a wink this way. I've never even bothered asking others. So today I did a bit of investigation. I asked some people what they felt like when someone winked at them. Most of the reactions I got were just from the question itself.
