There we were dying of frustration
Singing, "Lord lead me not into temptation"
But it's not easy when she turns you on
Sin, stay gone

He promised that he would change. He said so, staring compassionately into those big beautiful eyes of hers, his hands cupping her flawless face gently and their lips a breath away from touching. He remembered exactly what he told her word for word:

"It's only because of you I'll make myself into someone new, you and only you."

Sure, the phrase was full of cheese whiz, but despite the carefree smiles they exchanged before sharing a kiss, she knew that he spoke from the heart. Everything he ever told her was truthful, whether wore his patented lopsided grin or the face of an abandoned puppy. He was a good man, his bad habits put aside.

But, every man knew that while they swore their oath to anything they say, it was hard to keep their word. In the end it dwindled down to the willpower they possess, and his...wasn't very strong. The list of promises he made was long, and they were certainly easier said than done.

He promised that he wouldn't drink carelessly anymore.

He promised that he wouldn't go anywhere without telling her and come home after bedtime.

He swore that he wouldn't lie, he wouldn't swear constantly, he wouldn't sit around all day doing nothing and nag and bitch over the smallest things.

Most of all, he promised that he would leave his womanizing days in the dust.

Well, he discovered that irony had a way with screwing with people. For the first several weeks into their relationship, everything went smoothly. They couldn't have been any happier, and he discovered that he certainly forgot the joys of actually getting into a long-term relationship. Why had he shunned actual dating for so long? Not all women were whores who were interested only in his handsome features and not his childish and amusing personality, and he certainly wasn't destined to be a perverted skirt-chaser for the rest of his life. So, perhaps he sort-of-kind-of failed in the dating scene back in the good old days of high school and college, but they were behind him and he knew better now. He's ready to turn a new page in life. He's willing to stop fucking random women fished out from bars, yes?

Temptation's familiar icy hands grabbed him one chilly November night, unable to resist the habits that became so well refined within the past twenty years. Several hours found him breaking nearly every single oath he made. He left home when she was out finishing everyday errands. When she called his cell phone he threw together a half-assed excuse then shut off the device. He waltzed into the bar as if it were his second home once more and before the evening was even over he was dragging a woman out to his car, their breaths thick with alcohol and their smiles portraying their dirty intentions.

He didn't even remember this woman's name (did she ever tell him?), and they were wrestling each other in the cheap motel room, their drunken kisses clumsy and wet. In the back of his head he knew he shouldn't be here. He shouldn't be ripping off a strange woman's clothes and letting her please his out-of-control hormones. His conscience was pulling and grabbing at his intense desires, making him want to just bolt out of the room and speed home. He wanted to pull his beloved into a death hug and beg for her forgiveness and punish him as she seemed fit. Yell and scream, hit him, even leave him in his cold empty house for several days to let him sulk in misery.

But, old habits die hard.

He dug himself back into the hole he worked so hard to fill in.

Lyrics is from "Yes" by Coldplay.