Summer may bring a few classes here, an internship there and three months of freedom to fall in love and get a great tan.  As is expected, you take a few notes from the summer relationship “how-to DVD”, also known as Grease, and begin to Sandy your way into Danny’s arms. If all goes as planned Danny will be going back to his Kenickie, Sonny and group of Thunderbirds to say his farewells before delivering you an iced Skinny Caramel Macchiato and cuddling up to an episode of Sex and the City. Simple enough right?

Reality then strikes to the tune of your iPhone ringtone when Kevin G starts calling you belligerently at 2 a.m. to try and convince you that he “wants to see you” and more importantly, that this is a good time. You go back to sleep with the help of the ignore button and pretend that “tomorrow” you’ll meet your Danny Zuko.

Flash forward to reality. Audrey Moss-Strong, a UO student, sits by her phone two minutes after “Ethan”, the guy she met in Las Vegas was suppose to call her; she smiles with a glow in her face. She only called whatever was going on a “fling.” However, the emotion and excitement of a new relationship resides on her face.

Summer romances, flings, or whatever we decide to call them seem to bring out the giddy, fickle and hopeful side in even the most pessimistic of us all. Maybe it’s the Vitamin D (or C), or maybe it’s just that we’ve all agreed to play along.

One factor that seems to always come into play when dealing with summer flings is distance. As it may act as the trump card at times,  distance has proven to be the determining factor for all summer romances.

For Amber Provost,  Moss-Strong’s roommate, it is soon to be the second summer that a romance has heated up quickly and landed her in a summer lust-trap. Her summer romance would, once again, be moving out of the country.

“Everything goes so much faster,” says Provost, “but he’s leaving in two weeks.” Provost, not completely willing to open up, has accepted that she will need to once again say her final goodbyes.

Her roommate Katie McCafferty, met her current boyfriend Richard Nelson, last summer while playing volleyball. As the summer dwinled on, their emotions grew deeper the couple was faced with the summer love dilemma: break up or stick it out.

Nelson says that the secret to it all is simple: “Be honest and truthful. It makes it so much easier,” she said.

So what’s the magic equation for a summer romance? Whether single or madly in love the group agrees there isn’t one; if distance isn’t your thing, don’t do it. If you aren’t ready to put in the work to make it last, it wont.

After all, some of the best things–such as chocolate milk–come with an expiration date.