By Holly Hox Forgets Me Not

“I can’t wait to fall in love with you. You can’t wait to fall in love with me. This just can’t be SUMMER LOVE-you’ll see.”

Justin Timberlake set me up for disappointment. I’m talking a serious let down. By releasing the song “Summer Love” back in May, he had me projecting the summer of my life with lots of boys and dates and l-o-v-e.

A summer love turned into a summer dud as any hopes for a romance ended for me around July. Not even two months into the summer and it was caput.

But I should have expected it. Ever since his days in ‘N Sync he was letting me down-crooning away as he promised to take me in his arms and hold me right where I belonged. And I believed him, while shifting back and forth in a dress much too shiny and an up-do much too curly-my arms around a boy much too awkward.

This time around, my dance moves got a bit better and I ditched the up-do. Metallics were in this summer, so maybe my outfit was still too shiny. But this column isn’t about hair, drugs and rock-‘n’-roll.

It’s about the allure of summer, and why it is such an aphrodisiac. (Shout out to Anna!)

Summer does promise that clothes shed, shoes come off, legs are bare and windows roll down. School is out until September and the load at work becomes a bit easier.

For me, this summer was about finally being 21 and single. It was having a group of friends with whom I could head to the bars for my last summer as a college student.

“Summer is a lay-back time of the year,” said Joe, 22. “All you want to do is be outside with that special person.”

“I get excited when the summer comes around,” said Brittany, 21. “When the semester is over, I have the chance to venture out and meet new people.”

So with meeting new people comes late nights, right? Are late nights more acceptable in the summer as opposed to the other seasons? I go out more during the summer. Perhaps it’s because, although we may have work, there are no exams to prep for and no class in the morning.

“Being able to spend every day together without the worries of school is the best feeling ever,” said Nicole, 21. “And there are so many more social events to go to since you have more free time.”

So that’s what it’s about-free time? Even if I were super busy, I’d still find the time to spend with him. As for him-that crazy jerk-he had me checking my phone every Friday, just in case.

Maybe there’s something in the smoke from the coals on the barbecue, as we sit back in our bronzed (or SPF-protected) skin, on that creaky vinyl lounge, and let the breezy air sigh “ahhhh” over our bodies. And we smile, thinking that this summer will be better than the last.

This summer was definitely not an amorous one for me. Regardless of love being in the air, it obviously was not in the same air that was circulating through the streets of lower Manhattan, where my invested summer interest resides.

Hey Justin: you’re still a liar in my book, but props anyway on winning the VMA for “Male Artist of the Year.”

And sweet summer: even though we had a rough season, it’s all right. I still like you.

“But the truth remains that you’re gone, you’re gone. Baby, you’re gone.”