Driving through small towns and strip malls in the night and rain is a very specific American experience for me. Actually, the whole story reminds me of places I've been. I'm familiar with the suburban environment where everyone is separated in their own house and you need a car to get anywhere, where there isn't much to do and not many people to talk to. Even with the people you do know that you could call "friends", there still isn't much to talk about and you're never really sure what to say to each other. At least, it was like that for me.
Got the ending where you tell Charlie how you feel, but I found it interesting how there wasn't a major love confession or something, which part of me expected. Instead there's only a promise to meet up later, which might turn into something or might not. I found myself thinking that it's still possible for these people to drift apart and eventually stop talking to each other, because that's what happened in my life.