Holding a friend's hand doesn't make you an abuser. It might be awkward and she might not know what to think about it though. If she wants to talk about it maybe you could explain the reasons to her why you held her hand. If she's comfortable enough to talk it out it will probably not be a big deal, but if she is freaking out about it I don't know if there is anything to do. Not knowing what the contest was, I don't know enough about what happened, but if someone who I was friends with just held my hand out of the blue (other than a child) I would probably feel uncomfortable about it, but I don't tend to be very comfortable with physical contact. Still, I would be able to get over it if an explanation was offered that made sense to me. (such as they were momenterily confused? I don't know.) And the context might make it more understandable.

<font color=green>Keep away from people who try to belittle your ambitions. Small people always do that, but the really great make you feel that, you, too, can become great. -Mark Twain</font color=green>