In something of a role reversal, Britney Spears and Colin Farrell appear together in the new issue of PEOPLE -- only it's his, not her, bellybutton that's exposed.

The photo was taken last week during a post-premiere rendezvous between the couple at Hollywood's Chateau Marmont, after she had ducked out early from the screening of his movie, "The Recruit."

In the photo, one of several of the twosome, Farrell, 26, is shown embracing Spears, 21, with his shirttail out. The shirt, by the way, is barely buttoned.

They ended up smooching on the hotel balcony, says PEOPLE, though Farrell has insisted "we're just mates, and we're not dating."

Only last month, Spears was reportedly seeing Fred Durst, 31, the frontman for Limp Bizkit, who posted a few cryptic words about his feelings for the semi-retired pop princess on his band's Web site.

Wrote Durst: "Anybody out there who has a serious problem with my feelings for Britney should just chill and worry about your own feelings for a minute. You can't help what happens in life because everything happens for a reason. I believe that."

Not that those "feelings" lasted long. In fact, after taking some ribbing about Britney in feedback postings by fans on his site, Durst replaced his message about Spears with a simple, "f--- everybody :o)."

Now, Durst tells TV's "Extra" that he and Spears never dated. "No. Hell no," he emphasizes, adding, "She's got a great ass, that's all. "I'm in love with Angelina Jolie. Angelina, if you're watching ..."