Signals

Signals: Part 3

It had been a while since they spent some time with their friends, especially since Giselle and Karina were in their final year and were busy with deadlines and exams. After finally finishing their last exam, they decided to hang out at their favourite off-campus café, at the corner of the street from their school. They had told their friends they were dating a month after they decided to give it a shot. Giselle and Ning Ning were supportive about it, not treating them any differently. They had a lot of questions, of course, and had to go through endless teasing, but nothing to show that they were uncomfortable with it. The only thing that Giselle and Ning Ning made them promise was to keep the 'PDA' down to the minimum. They couldn't ask for better friends, it was a huge relief for the both of them. They had been hesitant about it but after discussing it with each other, they knew they wanted their closest friends to know.

Karina was laughing with Giselle and Ning Ning when she felt her arm being tugged. She looked to her side briefly to find Winter had linked their arms together. They exchanged a smile as Winter merely shook her head and motioned her to continue with her chat with the girls. The younger girl's social battery was noticeably low and Karina knew the girl just needed a break for now.

Winter's thumb brushed the skin of Karina's arm lightly. They were dating for almost a year now and she found that Winter did little things that still made her heart skip a beat. Karina covered her girlfriend's hand and played with her thumb as a response. The little content sigh that escaped Winter as the girl snuggled closer, made Karina smile as she threw her another glance.

"Are you guys coming to my house after this for a movie night? I have popcorn," Giselle asked, looking at both Karina and Winter.

Karina was always down for movies but if Winter wanted time together alone, she would give a pass to it, so she turned to her girlfriend and raised her eyebrows questioningly. They hadn't been spending that much time together lately since she was busy finishing her final year.

Winter looked at their friends and then at her, and she knew Winter could tell she wanted to go when the girl gave her a lopsided smile before answering Giselle, "Yeah, sure, it's been a while."

Ning Ning laughed at their interaction, blurting out teasingly, "Whipped."

They left the café shortly after and split up since both Karina and Ning Ning drove their cars out that day. Finally being alone after a couple of hours, Winter made herself comfortable in the passenger seat of Karina's car by taking off her shoes and crossing her legs on the seat. Letting the girl choose her own music, Karina was focused on driving with one hand on the wheel and had her free hand resting on the stick.

"What movie do you think we're watching?" Winter asked, casually grabbing Karina's free hand and holding it on her lap as she looked out the window.

Karina let Winter play with her fingers. "Not sure, probably some action movie? Or comedy, I guess."

"Mm," her girlfriend replied softly.

"Are you tired? We can always reschedule with them?" She had to ask, knowing Winter wasn't in a very chatty mood. She stopped at the red light and turned to look at the quiet girl.

"Mm-mh," was all she said, shaking her head.

Karina squeezed her hand gently at that. "Okay, we can leave at any time, just let me know."

Winter turned to look at her with a soft smile. "Okay, thank you, baby."

Karina grinned at that, her heart lifted. The light turned green and she began driving again.

-

Karina rarely got sleepy or doze off during any movie, at any time. Her mistake was laying her head on Winter's lap, because her girlfriend had been running her fingers through her hair and gently massaging her scalp for at least 20 minutes now. She found her whole body relax and her eyes growing heavy.