Britney Spears seems to have been making a statement -- lunching ALONE in a cute off-the-shoulder top with skinny jeans and platform heels, her bikini top peeking out from underneath. Where was boyfriend Sam Asghari?

Spears was escorted by her bodyguards, one of whom was holding an umbrella at one point to shield Brit from our lenses, and it looks like she'd been enjoying the holiday by the pool -- with her sun-kissed skin pink and pretty. But why'd she go out to lunch by herself on Memorial Day???