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The greatest prom date ever!

VILLA PARK – The girl was nervous.

Would the boy say yes and go with her to the prom?

 

Kayleen Boland, 17, a senior at Orange Lutheran High, went all out for the big moment.

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She walked up to Kevin Van Matre’s house carrying a homemade vanilla cake, green and blue balloons, and a big blue sign that said:  Kev! Will you go to the dance with me?  Kayleen punched the doorbell.  As she waited for Kevin, 18, to open the door, she thought:

 

What if he says no?

 

They met three years ago at 5 a.m. high school swim practice when they shared the same lane – Kayleen, the 6-foot-tall brunette, and Kevin, the 5-foot-2 boy with dark blond hair.

 

“We just clicked,” Kayleen says.

 

The more experienced of the two swimmers, Kevin started giving Kayleen unsolicited tips. 

 

“He likes to give orders,” she says.

 

“Kind of, yes!” he says.

 

They exchanged numbers, and started talking daily.  Kevin would begin every conversation the same way:  “KAYLEEN! What’s uppppppp! It’s Kev! Whatchya doin?!”

 

Kayleen loved Kevin’s giddy smile and his crazy dance moves, and the simplicity of their friendship, free of the usual teenage dramas.

 

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