Clark doesn't love you.

It's not love that he feels, and he thinks he's sure of that. You were one of his closest friends - it was normal to buy dinner for you everyday. It was normal to think about you in his dreams, it was normal to want to gift you something you loved for your birthday, and it was normal to want protect you from anything that might hurt you.

He kept his secret from you, just because he didn't want to drag you into something that might put you in danger. That was because he cared about you - as a friend. It wasn't love, he was just being reasonable. It wasn't like he was afraid of what you might say if you found out he was the famed Man of Steel.

"I bought you a drink," he lamely gestures as he approaches you, the cup warm against his palms. In fact, he was warm in general the moment he laid eyes on you, clearing his throat awkwardly. "I hope I got it right. I blanked when I went to order."